Battleground

battleground

synopsis: you hated your co-president, kim seungmin. but, it's your last year of high school and prom planning is up to the two of you. you just expect getting work done and leaving school. what you don't expect however, is kim seungmin looking after you (considering you never do) and you coaxing him into being your prom date.

pairing: non-idol!seungmin x fem!reader

genre: academic rival to lovers, crack, fluff, high school au, angst if you squint

warnings: swearing, mentions of eating, mentions of fatigue and fainting, sickness and overworking, slight themes of stalking, panic attack but not mentioned as such, mentions of alcohol, overconsumption of alcohol, a shit ton of pop culture references (i'm sorry)

word count: 21k words (?!)

requested by: @starlostseungmin (hi kaisey ily)

playlist: gorgeous - taylor swift, true love - p!nk, CHILL - stray kids, make you mine - madison beer, teenage dream - katy perry

a/n: real life men are better of as just enemies. my fictional rendition of seungmin, however, is not. (also i hope it isn't obvious that i have never been to prom.)

"you ruined my life, by not being mine"

"Was that an attempt of trying to flirt with me? Cause, wow, you need to step your game up," Seungmin told you with a smirk.

Sunlight streamed through the library windows, illuminating the dust that covered the bookshelves. They were proof of the lack of visits to the old haven of knowledge. Settled in an armchair was Kim Seungmin, book in one hand, glasses slightly crooked and one legged propped upon the other.

You let out a puff of breath in an attempt to calm yourself down because, who did he even think he was? "No, Kim, it wasn't. I am literally a teenage girl and yet, you are the most delusional person I have ever meet," you spit out, "The principal's calling us. Let's go."

"Alright, fine," Seungmin responded lazily. He stretched his long limbs and got up from the armchair he was cozily tucked up in.

He joined you on your walk towards the principal's office while you told off whatever force was above that caused you to be walking to impeding doom with Kim Seungmin on a Friday morning.

You both had a bitter rivalry that began your first year in high school. Coinciding with the fact that the said high school was also a boarding school, there was no escaping Seungmin. You couldn't even pinpoint when your feelings towards him changed from indifference to animosity; but having been pitted against each other for all your academic life at Park Academy, it certainly did make sense.

It wasn't that you didn't respect Seungmin. He was good at everything he did and a worthy opponent in all your endeavors. But he just made it so difficult for you to like him.

Your already dysfunctional relationship with him only took a turn for the worse this high school senior year. Both of you had decided to run for student council president. Despite all the campaigning and emotional blackmailing, you both had tied for the position.

Your incredible school, instead of holding a tie-breaker, deciding to make you both student council presidents. The idea of writing 'student council co-president' on your college applications physically made you wince.

But the worst part? Seungmin and you actually worked really well together. Deciding to keep your rivalry out of anything student council related on your first session (the banter continued though, nothing could take that away), you both had built up one of the best councils the school had seen under your shared leadership.

You didn't know just how well you both would get along when it came to matters as such, but that didn't lead to either of you warming up to each other. Conversation between you both strictly consisted of official matters and jabs at each other.

In fact, you hated each other's presence so much that you both almost instantly decided on splitting responsibilities to avoid running into each other. Oddly enough, you both seemed to agree on a lot of things. You always just brushed it off with a, great minds think alike.

Not that you would ever confess to Seungmin that you considered him to be someone with a 'great mind'.

The both of you walked towards the principal's office in silence. When you eventually got there, the receptionist quickly ushered you both inside. You smoothed down your skirt and sat down with your hands in you lap. Beside you, you noticed Seungmin drape his blazer over the back of his chair and take a seat.

Your principal was on a call and winked at the both of you, pointing towards the phone and turning her finger around in a circle near her temple. Seungmin flashed her a strained smile while you hoped that the expression of judgment on your face wasn't obvious.

For some reason, Principal Kim thought that she was your friend. When she finally put the phone down, she snorted, "Superintendents, am I right?"

Seungmin and you laughed weakly in response. Principals, am I right? was the phrase you were currently trying very hard to bite back.

Coming closer, Principal Kim laced her fingers together and leaned onto the table. "As you both know," she began, "We have around five months till prom."

A buzzing grew in your stomach, excitement engulfing your senses. Prom. Your sole respite, the event that you had looked forward to your entire high school life. From watching Disney movies romanticizing prom at a young age, to subsequently moving onto books that did the same, you felt like prom would be the pinnacle of your time in school.

"Now," continued Principal Kim, "While I do know that you both have a tendency to work separately, I would like you both to chair the prom committee together this year. We are thinking of making this year's prom one of Park Academy's finest. Take your time and compile the best Prom committee you can and get started on everything."

She clapped her hand and leaned back, beaming at her best students. "That is all," she smiled softly, nudging a tray of toffees towards you both.

Seungmin looked mortified at the thought of eating something from the principal's office like he was six. In any other circumstance you would have too, but the giddiness of both prom planning and not having had anything for over twenty four hours compelled you to take one.

"Aren't you excited?" you asked Seungmin as you both walked out of the door.

You were opening the toffee wrapper when he responded with a curt, "No. I personally believe that prom is a waste of time. I'll help in the committee planning and be present if I need to, but you can rightfully assume that I will not be enjoying any of it."

You were slightly shocked at his response but responded with a scathing, "I didn't know that the Kim Seungmin was too high and haughty for prom."

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to make eye contact with you. "Prom is like a playground for bullies and confused teenagers. It's a battleground for snarky comments and raging hormones and, might I add, brings out the worst in people."

He quickly turned on his heel and walked away before you could utter a word. You slowly let out a deep breath to control you anger and headed in the same direction as him, towards the cafeteria. You can hear the chatter of students and the sudden influx of sound momentarily causes your world to spin.

You're leaning against one of the lockers trying to steady yourself when feel an arm around your waist hoisting you up.

Hyunjin clicked beside you in disappointment. "Don't make me start feeding you now."

You just sighed in response and leaned your head against his shoulders. He was right, of course. You had the horrible habit of putting your health second (to last) with regards to anything that had to do with university and getting in. One of those things was skipping meals in favor of studying.

"I don't understand how people who sleep eight hours a day get shit done," you whined against Hyunjin.

"Well, has it ever occurred to you that people usually don't have as much shit to do as you do?" your best friend responded wisely. You lightly tapped the side of your sneaker against his.

Hwang Hyunjin was practically your brother in every aspect possible. He was lovable, caring, annoying and wanted to make you rip your hair out. All of this was what you assumed having a sibling was like, being an only child yourself. Ironically, he was one too.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You first met Hyunjin during an art class that you had to take for your first week of school. You struggled with drawing a straight line, while embarrassingly using a ruler. He was sitting beside you and calmly sketched one of the most incredible monochromatic landscapes you had ever seen.

When fourteen-year old Hyunjin gave your drawing a practically dangerous side eye and when you looked at him with eyes pleading to help you, the foundation of your friendship was laid. Later, when you handed him half a Snickers bar as a means of saying 'thank you', your friendship was cemented in chocolate and pencil shavings.

You both were joined at the hip ever since.

Your other best friend, Jeongin, had a habit of seemingly materializing out of nowhere and startling you in the process.

"Hi," he said, his face spawning in front of yours.

His wild hair and crazed smile caused you to yelp in surprise and hit your arm against the water fountain. Hyunjin laughed at your misfortune while Jeongin apologized with an extremely unapologetic smile. You resorted to glaring at both of them.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The story of how Jeongin turned your duo into your trio was a tale in itself. Jeongin was a year younger than you and Hyunjin, currently a junior. You had first spotted him on his first day of school, him waddling around like a lost duckling and you unwittingly (and unwillingly) taking on the role of a mother hen.

Hyunjin had seen young Jeongin standing in the crowd, desperately trying to act cool. Jeongin's shoes were a painful pattern of key lime and hot pink that most definitely did not match together. He wore an oversized jacket and sent a small nod towards everyone who looked his way, hands jammed in his jeans pocket.

"That one," Hyunjin declared while dragging you along with him, "We're adopting that one."

And so two became three.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Presently, you scoffed at Jeongin. "How did you even become student council vice president?"

Jeongin beamed at you, counting off his fingers as he listed of his campaigning winning qualities. "I'm hot, rich, smart and funny."

Hyunjin snorted in response, him on one side of you and Jeongin on the other. "Innie, you are several things but smart is not one of them."

You were compelled to nod in response as Jeongin responded with a gasp, "You too? How could you betray me as well."

You would have issued a sarcastic reply to what he said, but you were too distracted by Hyunjin being distracted. He had suddenly stood still at the entryway of cafeteria, staring at something in the distance.

When you followed his line of sight, you suppressed the urge to burst out into laughter. Jeongin, however, did not.

"Gosh Hyunjin," he wheezed between laughs, "Just ask Riya out. Watching you suffer in this down bad, unspoken friend zoned phase is pitiful."

Hyunjin had been in love with Riya Rai for well over two years. You could obviously tell why; she was gorgeous, smart and a part of Hyunjin's dance class. You were truly rooting for them to start dating, Riya being one of your roommates.

You still remembered the way Hyunjin gushed over her classical dance audition. ('I couldn't understand the words but it was like she was flying!') Jeongin too, was subject to Hyunjin's hopeless love for her. Being the kind of person Hyunjin was, he fell for her hard and deep.

You were happy for Hyunjin, you truly were. But a part of you longed to feel a love like that for somebody. Not even a relationship, just feel love dripping into your heart until it rushed in like a torrent.

You were always so busy with proving yourself to others, that you never really took the time to introspect your own desires.

"Hyunjin," you asked impatiently once you remembered what exactly you wanted to talk about.

"Hm?" he responded as you both grabbed your food and sat at a table with your regular friend group.

Riya slid in beside Hyunjin and you could feel him visibly tense. You couldn't understand why he was so nervous to profess his feelings for her. Any girl (apart from you, because ew) would be willing to date Hyunjin.

Riya brightly made her pleasantries after which you asked solemnly, "Guys. Would you do me the honor of being part of the prom planning committee?"

Riya and Hyunjin were the few people who shared the enthusiasm for prom which you did. Riya mouth slowly hung open while Hyunjin sharply took in a breath.

"Really?" he whispered in awe.

You nodded happily as Hyunjin hugged you from one side and Riya clambered over to where you were sitting to wrap her arms around you. "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou," she repeated like a chant while Hyunjin excitedly began plotting décor ideas.

Maybe you wouldn't need romantic love while you had them.

You were busy people watching and tuning out Riya and Hyunjin's enthusiastic chatter when you caught site of Seungmin. He was sitting with his best friend, Lee Felix. You found their friendship quite odd. How could the embodiment of happiness be so close with the devils spawn?

I guess opposites attract platonically too.

You lamented at the thought of co-heading a prom committee with a partner who hated prom until an idea struck you. If Kim Seungmin hated prom, you could teach him how to love it. That lunch break, you made an executive decision that, unbeknown to you, would inevitably change you life.

You decided to open Kim Seungmin's eyes to the brilliance of prom.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - five months.

Seungmin stood next to you as you both waited for the rest of the student council members to make their way for your impromptu Saturday meeting. The two of you stared up at one of the most monstrous things you had ever seen in your lives.

A large banner with a blue background and the words "T-5 MONTHS TILL PROM!!!" in an ugly orange text stared back at you.

You gaped at the banner, seething with anger. "Let me find the person whose amazing idea this was and rearrange their body proportions for them."

Seungmin just responded calmly, "Maybe this is a sign from the universe to get our act together, delegate responsibilities to the committee and actually get started on prom."

"Not all of us are as optimistic as you, Kim," you told him dryly.

"Not all of us have an insatiable bloodlust, candy cane," he retorted monotonously.

Your mouth pressed into a thin line as you turned to see Seungmin's eyebrow cocked in a persumed sense of superiority.

You despised the nickname, a knowing jab at your short stature. Seungmin first called you candy cane when he noted how your height was nearly equivalent to the candy canes lining your school halls in your junior year.

It had stuck when you both were privately conversing with each other ever since.

His indifference slightly bristled you, but then again you were known for having a slightly short temper.

Chatter flowed in through the library's door, accompanied by the sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor. People who you and Seungmin had individually contacted, along with most student council members, began entering the room.

You noticed Hyunjin making his way to sit next to Riya, who was busy in conversation with Felix. The three of them were known for being close due to dance club. You shot Hyunjin an encouraging smile and he gave you a slightly crooked one.

Jeongin bounded up to the front to assume his rightful place as vice president. You ruffled his hair and he pinched your arm in retaliation. Your little squeal and his irritated grunt earning an annoyed look from Seungmin.

He cleared his throat loudly, instantly commanding the attention of the entire room. Faces turned to look at him when his voice called out, "I hope you all know why we have gathered here today."

He turned to look at you, your cue to begin talking. "As you may be aware, you all have been selected as this year's Park Academy Prom Committee!"

The room burst into applause as Seungmin continued, a routine familiar to you both. You didn't know how the two of you did it. Without even prior conversation, you two fell into sync when it came to addressing the crowd in front of you for your co-lead student council meetings.

Once again you chalked it up to, great minds think alike. There was no way you and Seungmin had anything else in common, apart from the occasional train of thought.

Right?

When your long sermon was finally finished, the room was buzzing with excitement. Teenage hormones and the onset of prom brewed a recipe for eager anticipation. This is it, you thought, this is the last piece of my childhood I have left.

On the advice of Principal Kim, you and Seungmin split the overall committee into three groups: one for decorations, one for publicity and one to arrange entertainment.

Jeongin had proclaimed himself the 'god of social media' and sauntered off to the group in charge of publicity. Hyunjin, Riya and Felix automatically were presumed to be part of décor, with Hyunjin elected head of their group. ('I will not let my team down. Over my dead fucking body,' he told you in complete seriousness later that day.)

Finally, you and Seungmin were left handling booking and anything else payment and transaction related. Principal Kim's vehement repetition of how she only trusted the two of you with cash was seared into your brain.

As you both took rounds of the large library hall, something kept nagging at you, itching the back of your brain. It disheartened you to see how warmly everyone interacted with Seungmin in comparison with you.

What bothered you even more, however, was how warmly Seungmin, interacted with others when compared to you.

Being likable was one of, if not the biggest goal in your life. Knowing that a single person disliked you sent you into a frenzy. Call it your upbringing or society, either way you felt like everybody you knew had to find you to be a good person, or else you weren't.

Other people's opinions were like medicine to you. Gaining external validation became such a large part of your life that sometimes, you forgot that what you thought, what you wanted, mattered as well.

And in this draining people-pleasing process, you weren't quite 'friends' with everyone. You were friendly and appreciated among your students, yes. But you didn't have a large friend group full of people who cherished your very existence, like Seungmin.

That was probably why you called Hyunjin and Jeongin were your best friends. It took away from the fact that they were your only friends. Seeing them with their own, other friends hurt, but it was too late now.

There was no point making more friends when you would be gone anyways. And despite how much you wanted to, you knew that creating deeper connections only to break them away would prove pointless.

You and Seungmin settled into the small bean bag pods which were propped up against the empty library walls. He scrolled through his phone with utmost concentration as you did the same, tapping away at your laptop keys.

"We'll have to sit with Lily for planning the budget," Seungmin broke the silence while referring to the committee treasurer, "But she has texted me the overall amount we have in the trust."

Seungmin opened the message and angled his phone towards you, eliciting a gasp from your mouth.

"That is an insane amount. Do you know what this means? We truly can make this Park Academy's best prom yet!" you excitedly began listing off the non-existent limits to which the money could spent.

"You forgot something," Seungmin added, stunning you to silence. What could have you forgotten about prom which Seungmin could have remembered?

The stoic expression on his face, however, told you it was nothing good.

"We need to show extreme constraint while using the money and be strict on the group," Seungmin huffed.

You blew in anger, "The entire point of having an extensive budget is to let loose! God, you're like the Grinch of prom or something."

"Please sweetheart," he snorted, "I'm far better looking than him. Even you can't deny that."

And as infuriating Seungmin seemed to you, he was correct. Seungmin was drop dead gorgeous. Even in a plain school uniform, he had the power to turn several heads. In fact, you would be lying if you said that you didn't find him a teensy bit attractive.

Not that he would ever obtain that information.

Seungmin went back to work, looking for banquet halls and hotels open to being the venue for prom. You observed him carefully, trying to figure the psychology behind why he hated prom. Then, you realized that to to succeed in your mission, you didn't have too.

The Grinch fell in love with Christmas too...

"I have made an executive decision," you announced to no one but Seungmin in particular.

He looked up, an expression of boredom and confusion coating his features.

"How exactly, darling, did you take an executive decision without consulting half of the executive. I thought you were smart enough to know how decision making takes place," a smug smile adorned him.

You rolled your eyes at him, "I will make you like prom."

Seungmin scoffed, "As if. You know what, Y/N? I bet you can't."

You sighed in fake defeat, cheering inside. One thing about having an academic rival was predicting their moves to the point where you knew how to trap them. It was like a game of chess, where Seungmin thought he had the upper hand, but you were one move away from checkmate.

You understood what made Seungmin tick, what ignited passion in him and what triggered him. You knew how to get a rise out of him and get him to calm down. More terrifyingly so, you knew that he knew the same.

You likened it to years of shared dislike, denying the fact that you both maybe were alike.

"I mean, considering our role in the entire organization of prom, we'll be stuck together all night anyways," you lamented in disappointment, "Truthfully speaking, I honestly did expect you to decline my invitation to formally attend prom with me as my de facto date."

"Although I wasn't planning on calling you that," you included for good measure.

You decided to deviate from telling him the real reason why you wanted to take him to prom. Out of everyone in this school, Seungmin was the last person left whose good books you didn't have so much as a footnote in.

You knew that this little social experiment of yours to leave school with everyone singing praises about you was highly selfish, but you needed this to feel worthy of graduating. You needed this to feel worthy of being a part of a social communities.

You could practically see the anger teeming from Seungmin at proving you right. "Fine," he spit out, "I'll be your date."

Checkmate.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - four months and 16 days.

With final assessments right around the corner, physical committee meetings came to a halt. All conversations took place through group chats and the occasional locker meetups. In all the frenzy of studying, you were once again indulging in sleepless nights and nutrition-less days.

Seungmin had gone into hibernation mode and as had you. All your phones were on do not disturb and casual fun was out of the question. Today, you had taken release in the library, headphones on and coffee in hand.

You were (pathetically, to some, advantageously, to you) on a first name basis with the resident librarian. Because of you often staying late nights (correction: all night) in the library, you even had your own spare key to lock up when you were done. It was a little secret you both shared.

Today, however, you felt uneasy. A transfer student by the name of Benji had been unceasingly making romantic advances towards you the past week. Although you reject him multiple times, his feats of grandeur only grew.

He was currently sitting a few tables away from you, the only other person in the library apart from librarian Kang. Even though he attempted to look busy and engrossed in the book in his hand, he kept stealing glances from you.

It was late, very much so. Everybody would be asleep and you didn't want to disturb anyone. You calmed your nerves but reached your breaking point when Kang asked Benji if he planned to leave anytime soon and he refused.

In a state of both fear and fatigue, you dialed the number of the only person who you knew would be awake at this time and waited for the call to ring out.

"Hello?" came Seungmin's bewildered voice. You rarely called him and even then, never at this hour.

"Seungmin, hi. I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor?" you asked him, hoping to suppress the  anxiety in your voice.

He must have noticed though, because his voice was alert. "Sure, what's up?"

"You know how Benji has been treating me, right?"

He hummed in acknowledgement. Of course he knew. Benji boasted so much that everyone knew.

"Well, I'm in the library and so is he. He's the only one here and it's kinda freaking me out. If it's ok with you, can you please just stay on call with me just in case? You can put me on hold or something, just please be active. I'm really sorry but you're the only other person who I knew would be awake right now."

You heard rustling in the background and his voice finally came back, "Wait. My dorm is loud anyways so I'll meet you there."

"Oh, okay, okay."

To your extreme relief, Seungmin did not hang up the call. Instead, you could hear his footsteps. All the mundane sounds of him locking his dorm, shoes slapping against the concrete and heavy breathing (due to running, but that didn't make sense) oddly calmed you down.

That was, however, until Benji walked over to where you were sitting. He gave you a venomous smile and leaned over to books right above your head. Pulling out a book from the shelf above your head and walked away, something sharp glinting in his hand.

You breathing quickened. "Seungmin, he has a sharp object. I have assessed all possible escape routes. I would suggest that you leave as I will probably as well if the situation escalates."

"Are you fucking out of your mind?" he questioned, almost sounding angry that you had even thought of saying something like that.

"I'm not leaving you alone with him or giving him an opportunity to fuck with the students of this school. He may be here for only two weeks, but I'll make sure he doesn't hurt a single person."

The steel in his voice made you shudder. You did not want to be on Kim Seungmin's death list. The library doors swung open as librarian Kang let out an exasperated sigh.

"Another wannabe Einstein," she muttered under her breath as Seungmin made his way towards you.

He looked like a sight for sore eyes in his plain sweater and gray sweatpants. Seungmin gave you a subtle not and took a seat right beside you, pulling out his books and tablet. Soon you both started studying and, before you knew it you both were engaged in a heated competition to see who could solve as many trigonometry problems as possible correctly, in the least time.

Throughout this duration, you didn't find out much personally about him, but saw a more carefree side of him. In fact, you liked this carefree side of him.

He winced when you pointed out the simple mistake he made that caused him to lose in the end. "I can't believe I've forgotten what the division symbol looks like."

You giggled and poked his arm, legs underneath your feet. "Is this what letters in math is doing to you?"

Seungmin shrugged sheepishly with a tiny smile. "Go ahead, shortcake, gloat."

Instead, you posed him with a question, "Why do you always insult my height? Like, that seems to be your favorite."

Maybe, just maybe, you were imagining it, but you saw a light blush scatter over Seungmin's cheeks. He cleared his throat and, in what must have been a moment of vulnerability said, "You are good at literally everything else. Your height is the only thing I can ask you about."

You stared at him slightly open mouthed at his sudden respect. In an instant, the room felt to hot and Seungmin's face felt to close to yours. The moment was broken, however, by the simultaneous and not at all harmonious chorus of a chair scratching against the floor and you're stomach rumbling.

Benji was gone and but your appetite was back. Seungmin must have heard it too because his right eyebrow was ticked up.

"When, exactly, did you last eat?"

"Today," you admitted sheepishly, "Morning. At 6."

"And what was it?"

Another gulp. "A banana."

Seungmin shook his head in disappointment and rifled through his bag. He pulled out a mushed granola bar and handed it to you.

"Eat," he commanded.

"Okay," you said meekly. "Wait, this is my favorite brand!"

"Yeah, I think you mentioned that before," Seungmin said nonchalantly, but you noted the slight quiver in his voice.

You took a bite and it felt like your body was screaming at you. It felt so good to eat after just having six in the morning bananas for the past few days, that you little out an embarrassing little squeal in content.

"I'm surprised you remembered," you referenced Seungmin earlier statement and folded the wrapper in a neat rectangle. Putting it in your pocket to throw away later, you waited for Seungmin's response.

It never came. His head was bent and he was hard at work, evidently ignoring. Seeing this as an indication that the conversation was over, you got back to your own work. That wasn't, however, without a feeling of something new that wasn't hate - adjacent.

You felt a little blossom of affection in your stomach for the boy flipping through the pages of his notebook beside you.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - it's finals!

You slammed your Astrophysics textbook against your desk, yet again unable to get stuff to fit in your brain. It was your last final and while you crammed for your other subjects, Seungmin had told Hyunjin that you were back to your old habits. Hyunjin and Riya had then joined hands and blackmailed you into (yuck) taking care of yourself.

"Seriously," you grumbled, "How do people who get eight hours of sleep get their shit done?"

Finally coming to the conclusion that you were helpless, you reached for your phone to text all your questions to Seeun, the assistant teacher. Seeun was a university student interning at your school, and an alumni as well. Citing how she was very much close in age with the students of your grade (if six years is considered 'close'), she insisted that you all call her Seeun and not Miss Choi.

You were in such a rush that you didn't even check for typos, tackling another chapter while waiting for Seeun's response. You still had one more day to study, considering that your exam was the day after tomorrow, you were going to use all twenty four hours and more to your advantage, not wasting a single bit.

Finding it odd that Seeun still hadn't responded considering how bored she always said she was and her frighteningly quick response times, you decided to check your phone. To your horror, however, you found out that in your rush, instead of sending your questions to Seeun, you had sent them to Seungmin.

His responses were almost instantaneous.

[8:18 AM]

You: [sent attachment]

You: Hi Seeun, I had a few questions regarding these topics. I was wondering if we could meet up tmrw to discuss them? Thx!

[8:20 AM]

kim stuck-up seungmin (sigh): i'm not seeun, but i could help

kim stuck-up seungmin (sigh): i tutored a few seniors taking this class last year

kim stuck-up seungmin (sigh): if you want, how does the coffee shop down the street at eight sound to you?

You were practically smiling at your phone. It obviously had to do about the fact that it was someone offering you help, not that it was Seungmin specifically. (Duh?) After waging a long, internal war, you finally opted to sacrifice what little dignity you had in front of Seungmin's eyes and take him up on his offer.

[2:47 PM]

You: really? omg thx!

You: see you then

[2:48 PM]

kim stuck-up seungmin (sigh): k, ig i'll see you there

Huh. Weird. Seungmin was notorious for being known to reply to people after a minimum of at least two hours, if they were lucky enough not to be left on read.

Not reading to much into it, you went back to work. Work wasn't just work though. It was an influx of nervous butterflies accompanying it. Not that it had anything to do with Seungmin, of course.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

When you got to the coffee shop that morning, it was technically 7:55. But, as you had always been taught, five minutes early is on time. Seungmin must have abided by that philosophy too, because soon he stumbled through the door.

You hadn't even picked a table to sit at when he tapped you shoulder and said, "Hey."

You turned to find Seungmin with the same green, battered back pack he took everywhere slung over one shoulder. His hair was tousled in an endearing way that made you want to squish him. His eyes were surprisingly warm and his lips were turned up.

"Like what you see sweetheart?" he teased.

You rolled your eyes at him, "No, of course not. It's like looking at something so hideous that you can't peel your eyes off of it."

He gave you a good natured laugh and walked alongside you to the coffee table.

After much deliberation, which mainly consisted of you and Seungmin arguing over the pros and cons of a window seat, you finally settled on a seat close enough to the large glass window for Seungmin's satisfaction and far enough to not prove distracting to you.

When your sugar packet tower fell down in the process of building it, he grinned at you again. It felt nice, having Seungmin's smile directed towards you.

Whoa, slow down there. Are you ok?

Without even realizing what you were saying, you asked Seungmin, "Why do you always cover your face when you laugh?"

Seungmin's smile slightly faded. "When I was in middle school, I used to wear braces. The kids... they found it weird, which meant they found me weird."

You were shocked. How could anyone dislike his smile? Seungmin's smile was one of the prettiest smile's you had ever seen. And mind you, you used to hate Kim Seungmin.

Used to. Now, it was more like you were tolerating him, sometimes even appreciating him. Wow, something really is wrong with you.

You snorted. "If I could travel back in time," you declared, "I would deck those dumbasses in the phase."

Seungmin choked on the coffee that the waitress had dropped off a few minutes ago. He surprisingly remembered your order, despite you only mentioning it to him during his student council coffee runs only once or twice before.

"Y/N, I'm pretty sure that's a crime," Seungmin snickered.

You raised your eyebrows in response. "And if you don't help me with this, I'm about to commit a crime, and you won't be in a position to testify."

With that, the lessons began.

Seungmin was an extremely good teacher. He was well known among the student body for being the kind of tutor that took F grades and turned them into a B+ or A-. Even you wanted to start tutoring, but your patience often wore thin faster than it did for others.

Seungmin though, didn't break a sweat. He revised concepts over and over again until you understood, making sure that at the end, you didn't have a single semblance of a doubt in your mind when it came to the related topic.

Two hours later, you were finally done.

"Now," Seungmin announced, "We will have some fun and let loose."

You were putting your books inside when you clicked a pen in your hand restlessly. "You, prim and proper Kim Seungmin, want to 'let loose' and 'have some fun'?"

Seungmin clicked his tongue in exasperation. "Look tiny, I'm disciplined, but I know my limits. You have already studied everything to the T. Plus, your exam is tomorrow. Get some fresh air and take a break now, then revise once more in the evening."

You wondered how he could be so careless when he probably had an exam tomorrow too. "What about you? Don't you have to study as well?"

Seungmin sent you a devious grin and you felt your knees go weak a little (No. What?)

"I had my last exam yesterday, honey," he happily shared, patting your head in mock pity in the process.

Honey, that was new. You were so used to the reoccurrences of 'darling', 'sweetheart' and terms related to your height that the new nickname caught you slightly off guard.

You hoped the expression on your face clearly conveyed that you found his actions traitorous. "How dare you prey on a vulnerable young woman just to quench your loneliness?"

"Come on," Seungmin coaxed, "We can hit the boardwalk, get lunch and go back to the dorms. You and I both know that we aren't invited to Saturday gatherings due to unfortunately being classified as 'nerds'."

In the end, you relented. After all, who can say no to someone whose beaming smile rivalled the shine of a rainbow and whose honeyed voice washed over you like a soothing balm?

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Boardwalk was the name that the students had given to the all year amusement park reminiscent set up that was just a few minutes away from the dorms. You had come here several times, but rarely with someone else and mostly to clear your head. (And watch toddlers shrieking on the carousel).

The moment you got your pink wristbands, Seungmin dragged you to the stalls where you played to win a plushie. He was so intent on winning something that you found it almost adorable.

"You do know that these are all scams, right? There's no way you'll win," you stated confidently, disregarding the mammoth scowl on the game operators face."

Seungmin lazily picked up a dart and aimed for the balloons hung on the wall. He cocked his head towards you and gave you a wink, "This one's for you, sweetheart."

To your utmost surprise, the dart hit the balloon perfectly. Even Seungmin looked stunned. The operator offered him another dart and you a self-assured smirk. He once again hit the dart again, with a satisfying pop!.

"All right folks," the operator droned, "Pick a stuffed toy."

Seungmin nudged you slightly, "Which one?"

You glanced at him, "You won, so it's only fair that you choose."

Seungmin smirked at you, "Nope. I recall mentioning that that one was for you."

Heat pooled in your stomach, which shouldn't have. Especially when the cause were Kim Seungmin.

"Okay," you jutted out your head to make eye contact with him and turned back to choose the lucky stuffed toy.

You pointed at a medium sized elephant plushie and grabbed it eagerly. Holding it tight to your chest you said, "What should we name our child Seungmin?"

He presented you with no reply and a face contorted with judgement.

Pouting, you mockingly told the elephant, "Look, your father doesn't love you."

Feigning an offended gasp, Seungmin promptly snatched the elephant from you, "Don't listen to your mother, Ello."

"Ello?" You laughed.

"Shh," Seungmin chastised, "Let my inner European be free."

The mild spring breeze whipped your hair around and you took of your jacket, wrapping it around your waist. You spotted a fallen rose and quickly went to pick it up. It was still in pristine condition and in a random bout of girlhood, you tried to tuck it behind your ear.

Silently, Seungmin motioned towards you taking Ello and you handing him the rose. Seungmin somehow managed to break of the thorns without cutting himself.

Delicately lifting up the hair behind your hair, he began to adjust the rose in place. Since he was considerably taller than you, Seungmin leaned in front. You could see every valley and crevice in his face and for some reason, you wanted to hold it in your arms.

A rush thumped through your chest. As silly as it seemed, nobody had ever quite touched you like that. Seungmin's breath smelled like chocolates and cinnamon.

A rebellious part if you wondered if that was what he would taste like.

Lightly clearing his throat, he continued walking and you followed wordlessly. A few random rides later, you both finally found yourself in front of the Disco Pang Pang. A smile tugged at your lips. You were so going on this ride today.

Cheeks flushed from the fun you were having, you said breathlessly, "Let's go."

Seungmin visibly gulped, "I don't know."

"Aw come on, don't tell me you're scared." Seeing the petrified expression on his face however, you quickly retracted your statement. "It's fine, we don't have to,"

"No, it's okay," Seungmin managed weakly, "Just, hold me please."

Handing Ello to one of the fair volunteers, you both clambered up the metal stairs and took a seat on the foam benches. Seungmin was right next to you, his arm around the railing of where you sat.

Your initial excitement of experiencing this wore off, however, when the machine suddenly lurched forward. It threw Seungmin on you and his arms instinctively curved around your waist.

The warmth from his body radiated into you and for a moment stayed frozen, eyes glued on each other. You felt electric shocks where he touched you and trembled slightly.

Catching his breath, Seungmin began to apologize profusely. "I'm sorry I didn't mean too-"

The machine lurched again and again. Seungmin had figured out how to maintain his balance and stayed the distance of an arm's length away from you. When it was finally over, you both stumbled onto solid ground, clutching your stomachs.

"That. Was. Awesome!" You decided, delight etching your face.

"I'm convinced you're a six year old boy stuck in an eighteen year old girl's body," Seungmin groaned.

Agreeing upon this being enough fun for one day you both walked back to the dorms and went your separate ways. Astoundingly, Seungmin's advice of taking a break in between studying did help and you noticed that you were retaining information better.

You wanted to thank him and grabbed your phone.

[7:26 PM]

You: ty maybe.

You: I *kinda* had fun today

[7:30 PM]

Ello's dad: just admit it darling

Ello's dad: im fun

[7:31 PM]

You: in ur dreams Kim, in ur dreams

[7:32 PM]

Ello's dad: well then, ig I'll be dreaming of you tonight

You smiled despite yourself and went to bed.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - three months and twenty-five days.

Your relationship with Seungmin was somehow significantly improving. Yes, you still did indulge in your regular banter, but you both now had the ability to have full conversations without actually insulting the other person.

Your exams were finally over and, as presumed, both you and Seungmin had equal grades. What you didn't expect however, was even sharing the title of valedictorian with Seungmin.

The you before your impromptu study session would have been spitting fireballs. The you currently was looking forward to embarrassing Seungmin a little bit (in all good fun), during your moment in the spotlight.

In the fast paced environment of writing finals, wrapping up college applications and facing parents at parent - teacher meetings, the prom committee had forgotten one, extremely crucial component of prom planning: Picking a theme.

It was so stupid, really. None of you even realized until the décor committee was busy trying to decide on decorations and Felix meekly articulated, "Uh, guys. I don't think we ever decided on a set theme."

Seungmin eyes grew wide and you took in a sharp breath. How could you forget something so important? Frantic chatter arose and in a futile-ish attempt, you yelled out to the students, "Guys! Let's just come up with ideas, but in an orderly fashion."

In an instant, the room began quieting down and hands were raised, full of ideas. Seungmin gave you an impressed look and everyone slowly began suggesting various prom themes.

"What if," Noelle screamed from the back of the room, "We had a Paris inspired theme? I know, Paris nights!"

The entire room let out a collective groan. If Korea had koreaboos, then Noelle was some fucked up version of a French-boo. She boasted to whoever would listen that she had French blood, if being named Noelle and visiting Canada for two weeks constituted French heritage.

Riya ears perked up however, and she asked, "How about Aphrodite's Garden?"

You and Seungmin exchanged a look. "Elaborate," asked Seungmin.

Hyunjin gave Riya an encouraging shove and she stood up, "How about a spring theme, but instead of the classic flowers and leaves, it's more sensual and inspired by Greek mythology?"

The room broke into excited conversation, seemingly approving of Riya's idea. Hyunjin stood up next to her, "Riya and I could prepare a mood board and send it to the group chat."

"All in favor," Seungmin asked. A clear majority.

"Perfect," you smiled, "Then it's settled. The theme will be Aphrodite's Garden."

The room went back to it's raucous state as you stepped aside for a moment, head pounding from a headache. You had a cold and staying up all night studying for scholarship tests did not help. You knew you had to pass them though. You weren't willing to give your parents another reason to demean you for being a burden.

You were massaging your temples when Seungmin came up from behind you. "Are you okay?" he asked, voice laced with concern.

"Yep," you tried to muster a positive tone, "Just a headache. I'm peachy."

"Peachy?" Seungmin inquired, his eyebrow cocked upwards and tone full of mischief.

"Don't assume that I don't use the word peachy unironically," you huffed.

Still, Seungmin's apprehensive expression and the exponentially increasing pounding in your head made you feel your gut that something bad was brewing.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You, Jeongin and Hyunjin waited patiently in the computer lab the next day. Hyunjin and Riya had made the mood board for Aphrodite's Garden, but wanted the input of you, Seungmin and Jeongin.

All three of you stood near the window, peering out of the glass and observing the ant-like players on the soccer field below. You wondered what was so appealing about kicking a ball on a Saturday morning.

Hyunjin looked troubled, "I want to ask Riya to prom. But I don't know how."

You let out a sneeze in response and Hyunjin wordlessly handed you a tissue, the despair never leaving his face.

You slightly understood the reasoning behind Hyunjin's thinking. It was promposal season, people planning elaborate and innovative ways to ask each other to prom. Considering the high school you were at, this more often than not involved Rube Goldberg machines and periodic table confessions.

Jeongin let out an audibly exasperated huff of breath. "If you like Riya, just ask her out. The worst she could say is no."

Before you could add onto Jeongin's admonishment, a voice cut through the room.

"What?"

Your eyes widened as you clapped your hand to your mouth. Hyunjin felt himself stumble backwards and Jeongin muttered a low "Fuck" under his breath.

Judging by the tone of the voice and familiar sweetness, you knew it could only belong to one person. Time felt like a concept out of grasp as you, Hyunjin and Jeongin turned to face Riya, standing in the doorway with shock painted on her face.

"I- I can't," she tripped over the doorstep, "Look, I'll just send them to you, I-"

Riya steadied herself, holding on the the doorframe, and then fled the room. Hyunjin glanced at you, his eyes full of pleading.

"Go, quickly," you commanded, and he rushed out of the room in Riya's stead.

"See, this is why you're my favorite," Hyunjin told you while ruffling you, scowling at Jeongin. You sniffed in response as Jeongin's jaw clenched.

Just then, Seungmin entered the room, giving both Hyunjin and Riya and irritated glare. "Weren't they supposed to show us something?"

"They'll just send it to one of us," you told Seungmin, your voice coming out weaker than expected.

"You know what," Jeongin threw his hands up in the air in rage, "Fuck this. If they are out, I am out."

Seungmin stared at you quizzically, as if trying to unravel the pieces of the puzzle that made you, well, you. His eyes must have taken in your sickness - stricken state because the curiosity on his face morphed into concern.

"Are you okay?" Seungmin asked, stepping closer to you.

"Fine," you choked out, but you knew you weren't.

Your head felt like a thousand drills were screwing into it. You felt hot and cold at the same time, throat parched and dry. Your body felt like lead, being weighed down at ever movement. You knew these were the textbook symptoms of a fever and then some more.

You tried to walk forward, but couldn't hold your balance. Dazed, you felt your consciousness slowly slip away due to the lack of sleep you were forcing yourself to put up with it. Exhaustion didn't come to you in raindrops, it came to you in a torrential shower.

The last thing you felt was Seungmin's arms holding you up as your entire world shrouded in darkness.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

When you came to, you were still in the classroom, water droplets running down your face. Seungmin looked guilty and the bottle of water in his hand told you everything you needed to know.

"Sorry," Seungmin said sheepishly, "I didn't know what else to do."

You waved him off, still trying to fully gain control of your senses. You blinked slowly and languidly, adjusting slowly to the light. The sudden shift from complete darkness to windows that let in natural light was slightly painful.

You placed your palms flat against the floor, where Seungmin had most likely placed you. The cool sting of the marble tiles was a welcoming sensation, the bite of it rebooting your brain. You straightened your skirt but your head was still fucking hurting.

"What exactly happened?" you asked weakly.

You knew that women were often taken advantage of in such situations. You knew you could trust Seungmin with your life though. He would never hurt you in any sense, and the past few weeks only solidified that fact for you. Still, asking was like second nature for you.

"Oh, uhm, you fell and I caught you and somehow managed to lean you against the wall," Seungmin stuttered.

He let out a weary sigh and rubbed his eyes vigorously. It was almost as if he was the one who had just fainted and was sitting on a cold marble floor. The thought made you laugh, but the way your chest constricted in pain when the laugh travelled up your bones made you push it down.

"Let's-" you managed until you let out a sneeze, "Let's get back to work. Hyunjin or Riya must have sent the designs by now."

Seungmin looked at you, appalled. "No. Are you insane? You probably are. I'm taking you back to your dorms and making you something warm to eat, no questions asked."

"Seungmin, you don't have to," you let out, your voice hoarse. But despite your mental and vocal protests, your body couldn't fight it anymore. It was begging, screaming for help and you had ignored it wrong enough."

Seungmin set you a look that could kill and held out his palm. You grabbed onto it, and with his help stood up. You legs were so weak, however, that you fell forward again. The world was spinning and you were falling and falling until you weren't.

The entire time, only one thought rang over and over again in your head, like a sickly song.

Was success, was making the people around you proud, was your hard work really worth this form of self inflicted torture you were putting yourself through?

Seungmin's arms steadied your waist as you arms flew up to his shoulders. You were in close proximity now, close enough that you could see your reflection in his eyes. God, you looked like shit.

The concern in his eyes and the pain you were both mentally and physically going through finally made you snap.

Without warning, tears filled your eyes and cascaded down your cheeks. You were so, so tired. Seungmin didn't say anything, but he understood. Of course he understood. You couldn't deny it any longer. Being compared and set against each other didn't make you two poles on other sides of your respective worlds; in fact, it did the very opposite.

You were so accustomed to the thought of each other, that you had become a reflection of each other. There was no Y/N L/N without Kim Seungmin and no Kim Seungmin without Y/N L/N.

Your lives had become so intricately intertwined that the thought of a world without Seungmin, without the jabs and maddening nicknames, without the warm smiles that were solely reserved for you when somebody made an out of pocket comment at one of your student council meetings, felt impossible.

You felt your arms effortlessly slip down Seungmin's shoulder and around his waist. Your head automatically found a spot on his chest. You knew that your tears were staining his shirt, you knew that you were helpless and vulnerable, but you didn't care.

Seungmin kept you anchored as your mind swam through every dark tunnel that dug itself throughout your life. This time, you weren't frolicking in them. This time, you weren't finding solace in them because of your self proclaimed incompetence.

This time, you were sealing them shut for good and the only reason you could was because you knew Seungmin was there. He was there, he was there, he was there.

When Seungmin lightly placed his chin over your head, you didn't mind being short. His hands soothingly smoothed your hair over and over again as you noiselessly let out all the pent up emotions and feelings that grew into this black hole that was sucking the life out of you.

You stepped back. "I'm sorry," you sobbed.

"It's fine, you're good," he whispered softly.

Holding you forearm gently, he walked you out of the room you both were in and in the direction of your dorm. You furiously rubbed at your cheeks, attempting to lose any indication of you previously pathetic state, but you stopped when a shot of something you hadn't felt in a long time rushed back to you: indifference.

In this moment, you didn't care that the regality with which you held yourself in front of Seungmin  and the world was soiled under your feet.

All you cared about was that you finally had a person who would hold you while you break and pick up the pieces with you when you were ready, mending you and healing and hell, loving you back to a state of somewhat living.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Your hands were shaking so much and your vision was so blurry when you tried to unlock your dorm room door that Seungmin had to ease the key out of your finger. He slid it in and with a click, the door swung upon.

You pulled out strength from the nooks and crannies of your being to actually change into something comfortable. Seungmin surprisingly also had a change of clothes in his bag, until you later remembered that he had baseball matches every Saturday morning at dawn.

You came out of your room wearing cat faced pajamas that were a little big for you but cozy nonetheless. Seungmin looked you up and down with a smirk on his face.

"Shall I call you kitty cat now?" his tone heavy with fake torment and real intention.

There was no way you were getting out of this one.

"Shut up, puppy," you referenced the small puppy face on his t-shirt as you padded towards the bar stools that stood along your kitchen counter.

"Okay, kitty cat," he grinned while you groaned.

In the fifteen minutes Seungmin had spent inside your dorm room, he had located the medicine cabinet and slid a bottle of Tylenol and a spoon. You withered under his expectant stare and duly obliged.

"Fair warning," Seungmin said casually as he took out some instant ramen and a saucepan, "I'm a horrible cook."

You probably would have flipped him off for his easy-going tone while saying that he could food poison you if he wasn't the reason you were in the comfort of your home right now.

"Just don't give me acidity. I would probably die and if I do, best believe I'll come back to haunt your ass," you muttered.

"Relax," Seungmin's tone was slightly offended, "Have faith in me. I can make at least instant ramen."

"If you insist," you sighed.

Seungmin passed the bowl of steaming hot ramen towards you, vapor still rising from it. You blew on it and took a bite, the heat instantly making you feel better. Seungmin sat beside you and began eating as well. You both lunched in silence, only the sounds of your spoons hitting your bowls and the occasional slurp filling the room.

You let out a yawn and Seungmin was quick to tell you that the instructions on the instructions stated that you had to wait an hour before sleeping if you had eaten anything after administering it.

To kill time, you suggested watching something on television. Seungmin joined you on the couch. You wrapped a warm blanket around you while Seungmin shifted through your Netflix catalogue, evidently pleased with your taste in media.

You started speaking, "You know, I was thinking of watching -"

At the same time Seungmin began, "I was actually planning on starting -"

"Three Body Problem," you both finished at the same time.

Reflections, reflections.

Seungmin played the first episode and you both watched in transfixed awe and silence. Seungmin kept checking on you in between though. It was never something major, but small things, like handing you the only pillow on the couch and passing a bottle of water at regular intervals.

"Wow," you said breathlessly as if you yourself were in that setting, "Any theories?"

Seungmin gritted his teeth, "Multiple, actually, but I have read the books and that would be fair, would it kitty cat?"

You pouted at him and he laughed his devious laugh.

"You can go, if you need to," you told Seungmin, "I'll get some rest. Riya will probably be home soon for a few hours."

"No, I'll stay out of the goodness of my heart," Seungmin smirked.

You snorted, "Out of the goodness of your heart, or out of the goodness of wanting to steal something?"

"Maybe I'll take your bunny slippers. They're the only thing worth committing a crime in this dorm for," Seungmin mocked, the slippers you were currently wearing coming I'm intentionally violent contact with his leg.

"Seriously though, thank you for helping me. I wouldn't have expected it from someone who hates me," you said, not thinking much of it.

"I don't hate you," said Seungmin, and your worlds collided to come to a standstill.

Every perception you had for yourself was destroyed with the utterance of four words. I don't hate you. The walls you had built of rivalry and animosity, of surpassing him and opposing him came crashing down and burying you in rubble underneath.

If all you had worked towards was to dismantle the justification of Seungmin's fabricated hatred, and yet he never hated you in the first place, then what was the point? Does that mean that you were never truly doing any of this for yourself, and only because of him?

If he didn't exist, what would you be?

You realized that you were probably reading too much into it and let out a hollow, "I thought you did."

Seungmin shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I just considered you a worthy opponent that would help me improve myself. If anything, I respect you. In fact, these last few days have led me to see you as a friend."

You realized that it was time you apologized as well. "I'm really sorry too. I shouldn't have treated you so crossly."

Understanding and amusement flooded Seungmin's features. "No, please don't change. Bickering with you is one of the highlights of my day."

A smile tugged at your lips. "Okay, puppy boy. I'll go get some rest. What will you be doing?"

Seungmin winked at you. "Looking for things useful to steal, of course."

You lightly shoved his shoulder and he shook his head, shaking with laughter. Seungmin's hair bounced up and down as he laughed, pitifully, at his own joke.

You went to bed with a reducing migraine, a lighter heart and a new perception of you relationship with Kim Seungmin.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

As soon as your head hit the pillow, you were completely knocked out. When you woke, you felt weirdly feverish. You sighed bitterly, knowing that it would take you time to recover.

You walked out to the living room the check up on Seungmin. The sight which you found before you made you mentally melt into a puddle.

In front of you was a sleeping Kim Seungmin, legs brought to his chest and cheeks puffed out. His chest heaved rhythmically and small puffs of breath escaped his mouth. His hair covered his eyes and he was in the most compact position you had seen. You suppressed a snort.

You knew the kindest thing you could for him was to let him sleep. You knew the kindest thing you could do for yourself was to take pictures for blackmail material. Slipping your phone out of your back pocket, you quickly snapped a picture.

Foolishly, you forgot to turn off the flash and Seungmin stirred in his sleep. He got up with a start and blinked slowly. His eyes found yours and he blinked once more.

Then, with a slow smile, he said, "Hi."

If you thought you were a puddle before, you were now a stream rushing towards the ocean. "Hello."

Seungmin sprang up, "Feeling better?"

"Hm," you responded.

You watched as Seungmin made his way to the kitchen, shuffling with the cups you had inside your mildly messy cupboards. "I'll make coffee. Two sugars right?" he asked matter of factly.

"Yep," you replied in slight surprise, "It's crazy how you still remember. It's been... what, six weeks since your last student council coffee run?"

Seungmin's back was to you, mixing away the milk and coffee granules. "I remember everything about you."

You heart shouldn't have stuttered the way it did, and for once, you didn't try to stop it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - three months.

"Han Jisung," you yelled into your phone, "I will kill you!"

Static emerged from the other side, but you could still make out Jisung's muffled giggle. "Y/N, bestie, bad bitch, my ride or die, just get cookies."

You hung up the phone call in irritation as Seungmin leaned against the window of the bus stop, observing you with a smile. You shot him a grimace which was poorly disguised as a smile, and he burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Cookies it is I guess," he snickered at your misfortune.

"We're splitting the bill," you announced haughtily, and you both walked side by side to the local grocery store.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The cold air of the grocery store nipped at you, making its under your shirt and through your jeans. You rage towards a particular Han Jisung, however, propelled you towards the baked goods and sweets section. Seungmin tailed behind you, his hand holding on to your jacket sleeve.

The conquest in question was to get one of the people in your grade, Jisung, to help provide entertainment for the school prom. Him and two other seniors who had already passed out, Chan and Changbin, were part of a trio named 3racha. The entire school knew of their laurels; they had been signed to a famous company before even graduating high school.

Jisung told you to meet at their studio after school to discuss prom, assuring you that they would provide music and maybe even dj on the side. Right before you and Seungmin were going to leave however, he had the absolute audacity to tell you that his hyungs needed a lot of convincing.

You scanned all the decorative tin boxes, trying to pick out something cheap that would also suffice for the treacherous endeavor you were about to undertake. Sometime during this process, the familiar tug of Seungmin's hand on your sleeve vanished.

You surveyed the room to find where he was, like a mother looking for her son. When you finally spotted his familiar tuft of hair and tall frame, you let out a slightly fond and extremely exasperated sigh.

While you were actually working, Seungmin was busy waving two cones of ice cream towards you. You grabbed the box of cookies you were eyeing and walked towards him.

"Really, Seungmin?" you dryly questioned.

"I have an unnatural craving for butterscotch. If you don't let me have it, I'll go Edward Cullen on you," he retorted.

You seriously regretted persuading Seungmin into watching Twilight with you. Ever since the little sick spell you had which prompted Seungmin to spend time at your dorm, you both began a mini tradition of watching a movie together once every week.

You would play the movie on your respective laptops and call each other, listening on mute bar the occasional theoretical conversations and joint rants about the main character's absolute stupidity.

It all started when he began pestering you about table colors for the prom banquet ("but I don't see the difference between ivory and off-white!"), but you interrupted by saying that it movie night and that you were rewatching Interstellar. Both your movie preferences and haywire sleep schedules being very similar led to Seungmin asking you if he could watch as well.

The rest, as they say, was history.

You finally relented and you and Seungmin stepped out of the store with a split bill, a box of cookies under your arm and ice creams currently being devoured. You opted for Belgian Chocolate while Seungmin wolfed down butterscotch. You finished your ice creams and tossed your wrappers in the bin outside.

You noticed a spot of ice cream near Seungmin's lip. Without thinking anything of it, you pulled your sleeve and swiped at it, cleaning it in one go. Seungmin glanced at you with a mixture of awe, shock, and something you assumed was adoration.

"It's just ice cream," you mumbled, but the atmosphere of comfort and domesticity hit you just as much as it healed him.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The two of you got on the bus and found two empty seats beside each other. After you vehemently listed the cons of sitting in an aisle seat, Seungmin finally conceded into letting you sit near the window. He didn't do so without insulting your height (again), claiming that since he was tall he would need to stretch his legs, but you wouldn't be having such issues at all.

The bus ride to the 3racha studio would take a good forty five minutes. Not because it was far, per se, but because traffic was a little shit.

You both were on your phones, and you scrolled aimlessly through social media. You let out a groan of annoyance.

"What is it?" asked Seungmin.

"Just Riya and Hyunjin being disgustingly adorable. Go ahead, take pleasure in my despair," you offered, full of snark.

"I mean, if you insist," Seungmin grinned.

Ever since Riya and Hyunjin's dramatic love confession and Victorian romance-esque scenario, you had been third wheeling to the point where you were third wheeling without even being near them. Hyunjin and Riya being in a relationship did make you crave one of your own, but you were kind of to not let an innocent victim (see also: Yang Jeongin) fall captive to the perils of being a third wheel.

You were drifting in and out of reality, immersed in a science fiction eBook loaded onto you phone. Or at least, you were, until animated video game noises came from Seungmin's phone. You peered over his shoulder to see what he was doing, and burst into a fit of stifled laughter.

"How can you be so bad at Fruit Ninja of all games," you giggled.

Seungmin glared at you, "As if you're any better."

"I am, in fact," you snorted, your tone full of invitation and open to challenge.

It took just those four words and the smug expression on your face for Seungmin to quickly switch to multiplayer mode. The two of you vigorously tapped at your screens, slicing watermelons and mangos. Seungmin swiping was so arbitrary that he couldn't even cut through a fruit half the time.

You shoulder was pressed against Seungmin's and your chin hovered over it. You thought you both were being soft enough so as to not disturb anyone, but an old woman sitting in front of you coughed in what you assumed was contempt.

Blood rushed to your cheeks in embarrassment as you and Seungmin both bowed apologetically. You were expecting a lengthy sermon on public discipline, but the old woman broke into a smile instead.

"Always cherish your childhood friendships and childhood loves," she winked at the two of you, "Especially when it seems to be a love as free as the one you both share."

You and Seungmin exchanged confused looks.

"We're not-"

"About that-"

You were tripping over your words, stumbling and falling until Seungmin finally mustered, "We're not dating, or in love or anything."

The woman just laughed in response. She got up from her chair and left with an "If you say so!", leaving both you and Seungmin stunned in her wake. 

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You and Seungmin sat cramped in the 3racha studio couch. You couldn't quite call this room a studio. It was more of a musically inclined man cave.

Jisung, Changbin and Chan sat across from you, their legs ridiculously crossed over the other at the exact same angles. Jisung nibbled on the cookies that you brought. He smiled at another one of your death glares.

Chan clapped his hands together, "You know what? We would love to play at your prom. Changbin and I are alumni and Jisung is bitchless anyways."

Jisung swatted at Chan's arm with his cookie while Changbin swooped in to claim a cookie of his own. Amidst the chaos, you and Seungmin let out a sigh of relief.

"You can send us the transaction details at our email," said Changbin, scribbling it on a notepad. His booming voice made you jump in surprise.

"Cool, we'll do that soon. Before we go, can I use the restroom?" Seungmin inquired.

Chan rattled off the directions to the restroom and Seungmin left with a pat on your head and a "Don't miss me too much, darling."

"We'll get back to work now, Y/N," Chan said kindly.

You shot him a smile which remained on your face until Changbin snickered, "Yeah, Jisung can keep you company."

The two of them went inside their studio booth, erupting with giggles that turned into fake coughs which once again morphed into real coughs. You shot Jisung a quizzical look. "Oh, that's because I used to like you," Jisung said through a mouthful of cookie.

You weren't taken aback, unfazed by his sudden admission. Jisung has had a crush on almost the entire student body, regardless of gender. You would be kidding if you said that you didn't have a soft spot for Jisung though. He was your seatmate in chemistry class (a horrible one at that), but also the reason why you ran for student council president in the first place.

"You would be good at it," he encouraged you, even though you knew his ulterior motives.

You were presently reaching for a cookie when Jisung stated casually, "I didn't know you were dating Seungmin."

You choked on your cookie. "What? We aren't. Why would you think that?"

There was no way in hell you and Seungmin could ever be mixed up for a couple. Yes, your feelings of hatred towards him had considerably dampened, but that didn't mean that you liked liked him. Everything you felt towards him was strictly professional and only had to do with prom planning, as you would regularly reassure yourself.

Jisung shrugged. "The nicknames, the looks you were giving each other. I mean, you both are alike. It wouldn't be that out of the blue of you were."

You responded with a huff of indignation, assuming that this was Jisung's way of asking you if you were single.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

"We are not watching Twilight," you told Seungmin sternly. He pouted at you but you wouldn't budge, not even an inch.

Seungmin and you were back on the bus, the sky painted in beautiful shades of blue. The bus was quiet, you and Seungmin being the only passengers on there. Deciding to kill time because evening traffic would cause the bus to take even longer, Seungmin suggested watching something on his tablet.

"Let's watch the Vampire Diaries instead!" Seungmin said in excitement.

You stared at him, mouth agape. "What is it with you and vampires?"

"It's either that or Mean Girls," Seungmin offered.

You instantly knew what you would watch. Suffering through Seungmin watching Mean Girls and adopting Regina George's personality would be pure agony. There were many things you could tolerate in life, but Seungmin taking up the persona of his favorite characters after watching something knew was not one of them. Knowing Seungmin, you didn't have a shred of doubt that his favorite would be Regina.

"Vampire Diaries it is," you agreed, "But Damone is mine."

Seungmin offered no objection and handed you one side of his wired earphones. You had to sit in extremely close proximity to Seungmin, close enough that you could feel his breath on your cheek. Your head subconsciously dropped on his shoulder, his cheek pressed against your hair.

Seungmin smelled like cinnamon and rain. You wondered what perfume he used, but then realized that it would be pointless since any and all perfume would have worn out by then. After that you began to ponder about what Disney movie he had stepped out of to smell so good and look so good despite spending hours either outside or in a cramped studio.

Finally, your train of thought took a sharp, final turn.

You were comfortable, pressed up against Seungmin and making sarcastic comments every so often. It felt normal, natural even. It struck you that your head fit under Seungmin's chin like a missing puzzle piece.

The pieces of your brain and the pieces of his heart joined together to form a beautiful mosaic of shared chaos and resilience that was unique only to the odd relationship you both shared.

Maybe it wasn't so absurd that two people had assumed that you both were in a relationship. Maybe you didn't want it to be so absurd. Maybe you wanted it to be something that wouldn't cause you and Seungmin to dismiss with hurried explanations and laughs full of ridicule.

That was enough thinking for today.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

[10:17 PM]

puppy boy: i have come here to tell you that i am willing to risk our friendship

[10:18 PM]

You: /what/ friendship?

[10:18 PM]

puppy boy: fine, i'm willing to risk out not friendship for claiming damone salvatore

puppy boy: talk to hand if you have any arguments

puppy boy: ✋🏻

[10:19 PM]

You: lmao not you acting like damone would choose *you* over *me*

[10:19 PM]

puppy boy: ...

puppy boy: ok well i can't rly argue with that

puppy boy: if i was damone, i would choose you in a heartbeat

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - two months and twenty six days.

The most fascinating thing that you had studied about in your astronomy class were binary stars. They were the most common multi star system, found regularly in pockets of the universe. They were immensely important, aiding in the calculation of things like mass of celestial bodies.

But one could not exist without the other.

A binary star was useless without it's counterpart, just another ball of glowing gas drifting about in the universe. You reckoned that humans also had their version of binary stars, people whose lives were so intertwined with each other that having one without the other stripped both entities of their meaning.

In astronomy, they were called binary stars. On earth, they were called soulmates.

That was what you and Seungmin were, stars that shone brightly in your shared skies but instead of dimming the other, only amplified it. You both were natural satellites, celestial bodies gravitating into each other's pull like a two magnets.

Seungmin drew you in like nobody else did, and you were tired of repelling it. If the earth had reversed it's poles so many times in the past, then in the grand scheme of things, you reversing your perception of Seungmin should have been nothing that would warrant a big deal.

But to you, this was your entire perception of a black and white reality being ripped away and slowly rebuilt in color.

Considering that the person behind all of it was Seungmin, these colors were more often than not so vivid and vibrant that it left you craving more of what life could be like if he would be there mending every crack in your universe.

It left you craving more of what life could be like if the term my universe in your dictionary changed to our universe.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You and Seungmin were sitting together in the library. Well, less sitting together and more having a habit of happening to be there at the same time (which was almost all the time). This caused you both to strike up a habit of unknowingly taking a seat beside the other person.

Seungmin was leafing through a book while you silently observed him. "What is it?" he piped up, his eyes never leaving his book, "What do you want to ask me?"

You placed a finger between the pages of the book you were reading and shrugged. "Nothing much, really. How did you know I was wondering about something anyways?"

He looked up, his eyes meeting yours. "I just know. Now, what is it?"

His impatient gaze and curious eyes tempted you into telling him what was making rounds in your head. You found yourself thinking for the umpteenth time how his hair fell into his face so perfectly, making him a vision that seemed like a painting encased in a Parisian museum.

"Your eyes," you whispered, your tone so imperceptible that a another human being would have barely heard you.

Seungmin always heard your voice, though.

"What about them?" he chuckled.

You titled your head to the side, wondering if you yourself were imagining all of this. "Did you know your eyes change color when you look at me?"

It was true, at least to you. You noticed that whenever Seungmin's gaze caught onto yours, his eyes darkened. Not in the terrifying way often associated with bloodlust, but in the puzzled way that made you feel like he was trying to figure you out, just as you were trying to figure yourself out.

"It's just a telling sign for my animosity towards you," taunted Seungmin, attempting to ignite a fiery response out of you.

It somewhat mildly worked.

"Oh yeah," you gasped, "Ello will be troubled to know that her parents are fighting.

"Hm," contemplated Seungmin, "Who's gonna be the one to tell her that she's a child of divorce?"

Seungmin's comment caught you off guard. Child of divorce? It was so out of pocket that even the tantalizing curve of your lips that had been making you feel unnatural things as of late couldn't distract you.

"We aren't even married, Seungmin," you pointed out.

In response, Seungmin put his book down on the table in front of him. He placed his elbow on the aforementioned table and smoothly removed one of the two rings that he was always wearing: the smaller moon ring to his larger sun ring, you noticed.

He motioned for your hand and in one gesture, slid the moon ring onto your ring finger. "There," he declared proudly, "Now we're married."

He seemed so casual, so unfazed about it, that it enraged you.

Did he not just feel like an entire carton box of fireworks had gone off in an empty parking lot that was his stomach? Did he not get his breath taken away from a gesture that was so simple that a passerby wouldn't even have batted an eye at it? Did he not feel perplexed, terrified and astonished that such a feeling was even possible?

Because you did.

You felt like your world was tilting on it's axis and you couldn't keep letting the lava simmer under the surface anymore.

It felt like the entire universe was in your grasp, like electricity crackled at your fingertips. You felt euphoric, your brain buzzing and mind spinning.

You felt like someone shattered the vase of feelings that contained all you had ever experienced and glued it back together with gold in its cracks. You felt like someone placed rose-tinted sunglasses on your eyes and that you never wanted to go back to normal vision after gaining a taste of what this felt like.

You knew that what you felt was, according to the countless books and movies you had watched, a horrible illness that constituted a crush. But you didn't know that it felt so good? Even more frighteningly so, you didn't know when you stopped seeing Seungmin as a rival and as a friend.

You frighteningly didn't know when you started seeing Seungmin as someone you were capable of loving until you did and it scared you to death concretely only knowing that your brain provided not a single fucking objection to this flurry of feelings.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - two months.

In the time that you had come to the realization that you had feelings for Seungmin, and all the moments post that day, you were in a tumultuous state of mind.

You hadn't told anyone about your feelings, because you weren't sure if they were genuine or if they were a product of you romanticizing the entire atmosphere surrounding you.

You would be so cruel to Seungmin before a few months ago, so neglectful of his feelings that you thought it was foolish to think that he would ever like. It baffled you that he even saw you as a friend; hoping that he would see you as a lover would be akin to grasping for non-existent straws.

You should have told Hyunjin, who viewed love so beautifully that you envied him for it. You should have talked to Jeongin, who didn't see love as poetically as Hyunjin, but had so much of it to spare and never seemed to run out. But you didn't.

Instead, you chose to exist in torturous turmoil, over thinking each and every shared moment you had with Seungmin. If this was what experiencing supposedly unrequited like was going to be for the rest of your life, you sincerely hoped you never went through the pain of it again.

If this was what experiencing supposedly unrequited like was going to be for the rest of your life, you sincerely hoped it didn't become unrequited love.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

"And we'll have to meet Felix for his cousin, you know, Lee Minho, who said he'll be open to catering for prom," you finished with an air of finality.

Seungmin bobbed his head in agreement and walked with you towards you locker. He stepped normally, slowing down to keep pace with you. You felt like your legs were lead.

Being near Seungmin made you simultaneously want to combust and make you want to fly.

You reached for you locker and twisted the knob according to your combination, as you did almost everyday. This was like second nature to you, so when you opened you locker, put your books inside and turned around with the intention of facing Seungmin, you certainly weren't expecting what you were met with instead.

Renjun, one of the students of your grade, stood facing you with a bouquet. You had spoken with Renjun a few times at most, striking up conversation very rarely. You had no idea what warranted him looking at you earnestly, hoping that he was waiting for someone else.

Of course you were wrong.

"Hey Y/N, um... I have liked you for a very long time and I wanted to ask if you would go to prom with me," Renjun stuttered.

To say you were in shock was an understatement. Dating was the furthest thing from your mind, regardless of whether or not you had feelings for anyone, Seungmin included. While you did feel a surge of ego at being asked out for prom, you weren't in any way, shape, or form, expecting it.

This also meant that you weren't prepared for what you were going to do if you wanted to accept a promposal, which in turn meant you had even less of an idea of what to do if your intention was to reject a promposal.

You instantly felt pity on him and remorseful for what you were about to do.

"Oh Renjun, I'm really sorry but I barely know you. On top of that, I'll be really busy with student council and just be the reason your night to be ruined," you told him softly.

Renjun looked at you crestfallen. "Oh yeah, no, you're right. I'm sorry for bothering you. Can we grab coffee sometime though?"

Before you could respond, Seungmin interjected. "Yes, yes, that's all nice but we have to go. People to see, places to be. Just text her when and where."

With that, Seungmin dragged you away. You wanted to protest but were internally cartwheeling instead.

It was probably your imagination, probably caffeinated emotions, but you thought you saw a flash of jealousy in Seungmin's charming eyes.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

"What was that about?" you snorted.

"That was me having to be inconvenienced because my partner doesn't know how to respond when a guy asks her out," Seungmin snapped.

Not friend. No colleague or co-president. Not even your name. But partner.

You weren't sure how to feel about that.

"Why do you hate prom so much Seungmin?" you sighed, changing the topic.

Seungmin shrugged in response but you pressed on. "It's okay puppy. No matter how embarrassing, I won't judge."

You crossed your fingers over your heart, but Seungmin just looked at you with melancholy in his eyes. Your teasing smile fell.

"It's a long story," Seungmin said. His hands were in his pocket and he was kicking at a rock on the pavement.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," you told him, your voice full of guilt for asking.

"No, I will," he responded, "You deserve that much."

Seungmin finally began, "You know how I have an older sister, right? She's in college right now, but back when she was in high school, she was really smart. Smarter then me smart. I know right. Crazy? Anyways, she was very much type casted as a nerd and even though she was well liked, nobody wanted to date her. That was, until, prom came around. A guy asked her out and she was over the moon."

You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach, knowing where this was about to go.

"She wasn't even romantically interested in him, but was so excited that someone had for once, shown some interest towards her that she instantly said yes. I still remember how she wouldn't stop talking about it. She got ready, buying her own dress and everything, using money from her part time job that she was saving for university. She looked ethereal that night. I still remember all of it, even if it was five years ago. But she was stood up. Turns out the entire was a dare, a sick joke. Her final straw was when she saw the guy who asked her out walk into the prom venue with another girl on his arm."

Your heart broke for Seungmin's sister. You couldn't even imagine how it must have felt. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, however, Seungmin opened his mouth once again.

He continues bitterly, "She was so heartbroken that she went to one of those afterparties, that's basically a rave. She drank so much alcohol that it got to the point where she was passed out on someone's hospital. We had to rush her to the hospital and get all of it pumped out. It felt so painful, being thirteen and watching my sister just suffer in pure agony."

Seungmin's voice broke, "She almost died last night, physically. But mentally, she was wrecked. It was on her hospital records, this incident. None of the Ivies, or any university even remotely good accepted her. She finally got into Stanford, but that was after writing several scholarship tests and paying a hefty fee. She's never really been the same since."

When Seungmin's sermon came to an end, you felt his hurt ten times over. Tears glistened in his eyes and without warning, you pulled him in for a hug. You felt Seungmin let out a shaky breath and held him close.

"Your hair smells like strawberries. It's highly concerning. Fruit based shampoos are dumb," he mumbled into your hair.

"Shut up and stop ruining the moment or else I'll let go," you warned.

In response, Seungmin just held you tighter. When he let go, he swiped at his eyes and gave you a grateful smile. "Sorry. And thank you," he told you with a tight smile.

You just nodded in response. "Hey, I understand why you hate prom. I can take over for you on the actual night," you offered with a squeeze of his hand."

Seungmin shook his head in response, "No, I'll be there. It wouldn't be fair to all of you if I wasn't. But you should go with Renjun. Being tethered to someone who has an outlook like me would just make the night boring as hell for you."

The possibility of going to prom with Renjun when Seungmin was right there was something you found utterly ridiculous. It made no sense, no sense at all to go with someone you had no feelings for. Going to prom with Renjun would hurt both him and you.

Seungmin's glazed expression sent an arrow straight into your heart, piercing and deafening. You refused to let him drown in sorrow. "Absolutely not, Kim Seungmin. If I said you're coming to prom with me, you're coming to prom with me."

You didn't allow any room for further argument, shutting Seungmin up with a defiant stare. You wanted Seungmin to enjoy prom, you truly did. But you knew that this wasn't the complete truth. You had a much more selfish, concealed motive.

You were going to make Kim Seungmin fall in love with prom, while falling in love with you as well.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - one month and three days.

[9:06 PM]

You: oi seungmin

You: we still meeting up at the library to wrap up all the finally details?

[9:07 PM]

seungmine (hopefully someday): Yep.

You could somehow tell that something was bothering Seungmin, just by reading that last text. You caught your lip between your teeth as you got ready to go to the library, his dry tone throwing you off. Seungmin was pretty much a dry texter, but always followed it up with something absurd. Today however, he didn't. Hell, he even used proper punctuation.

The entirety of the mini 'meeting' that you had consisted of only you talking and Seungmin responding with one or two words. If you were lucky, he would look your way, but your luck mostly fell short.

You snapped your binder shut and asked, "Everything good?"

Seungmin just blinked in response, the boredom and sense of being done evident in his eyes. He didn't reply and instead proceeded to swing his bag around his shoulder and stand up.

You tried once again. "I was going to go shopping for prom dresses. Do you want to match colors? Let me know what you plan on wearing."

Seungmin spared you a half glance. "Yeah sure, wear whatever. I don't really care."

You felt tears prick in his eyes. How could he just not care? You were willing to give up fun and sacrifice romance so that Seungmin could have someone to spend time with. You were doing all this and for what? Being told that he didn't care?

You felt so heavy that you spit out, "You know what? Fine. I wanted to go to prom with you so that you would have someone to be with. I knew, I knew that we would have to be stuck together all night, socializing and making sure nobody burns the school down or spikes the punch bowl. But that doesn't mean that I don't want prom to feel authentic, to go as a normal teenager."

You continued, "I'm not even asking you for the grand promposal that I have been dreaming about since I was nine. I'm just asking you to do the bare minimum, if not as my prom date, which you agreed to might I add, but at least as the person who I share the title of co-president with. You cannot keep disregarding my feelings Seungmin. I'm sick and tired of it. I understand that you hate prom but it's you who keeps insisting on coming, it's you who keeps saying that it won't be fair if you aren't there which is ironic, because you most definitely aren't being fair right now."

Seungmin stared at you, jaw slightly hung open, but the fire inside you kept raging.

"I know you don't see me as a date and that's fine but at least show me some modicum of respect. You didn't even let me complete my question; it wasn't me asking about matching prom attire. It was Principal Kim who suggested asking you about it. And you know that a suggestion from her is nothing short of law."

The tears in your eyes were threatening to spill out now as you mentally cursed yourself for ever even thinking that you could have feelings for someone like him.

"So, Kim Seungmin, if you don't want to go prom, or if you want to be a whiny little bitch about it, it's fine with me. Text me if you're going. If you won't, I'll just assume you aren't. You can do whatever the fuck you want because I'm sick for pitying you when you clearly aren't deserving of it. Go ahead and fucking ruin prom for yourself, but don't you dare tarnish the experience for me."

Before Seungmin could even anything, you grabbed your backpack and walked away, blinking back tears as you thought about how cold and lonely prom would be without anybody by your side to spend the night with. Hyunjin had Riya. Jeongin had a roster of senior girls willing to go out with him.

But you? At the end of the day, every single day, you were all alone. You let your intrusive thoughts in, swirling in your head and nearly paralyzing your capacity to think.

What if the reason why you were alone was all your fault? What if you were too pushy, too rude for your own good? None of that mattered, though, because thinking about the situation never changed the situation.

You would be alone, no matter how hard you tried otherwise, and that was the bitter truth you had to learn to live with.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

[5:28 PM]

Kim Seungmin: i am so sorry y/n

Kim Seungmin: please answer my calls

[6:36 PM]

You: I have sent the details regarding the electronic equipment.

You: Make sure to contact them.

[6:36 PM]

Kim Seungmin: please let me make it up to you.

Kim Seungmin: please.

[7:05 PM]

You: Let me know once you contact them.

You: Don't bother texting me otherwise.

You: My phone will be on dnd since I'm going out.

You: Call me only if it's urgent. I think you should be more than capable of handling the situation now, but just in case. Don't expect me to respond to you about anything else.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You were avoiding Seungmin as if he carried a deadly virus. You dodged him in hallways and expertly deflected any and all of his attempts to talk to you. The one place you couldn't avoid where you knew he would be, however, was the library.

You needed to return one of your library books. Today was the last day and not doing so would led to you paying a fine. You couldn't afford a payable fees right now, since most of the savings from your part time job and the money your parents would regularly send you would be going towards buying your prom gown.

Okay, fine. Maybe you wanted to give Seungmin a chance to properly apologize. But that's absurd and not important right now.

Your headphones were jammed in your ears, music pounding through them while you walked in its direction. People thought that you had an affinity for listening to classical music since you came under the categorization of an 'over-achieving nerd.'

You knew that society also known as your school, would break out into scandal if they ever found out that Kendrick Lamar was your top artist on Spotify.

That thought brought you back to Seungmin, as you giggled at the memory of his confusion while you were explaining the entire Drake and Kendrick beef to him. His nose was scrunched up and his eyes were squinted, listening to you as if you were preaching about the secrets of life and the universe, not ranting about rap music.

Oh wait. You were supposed to hate Seungmin. Not giggle at the memories of the time you spent together like a middle aged woman recounting her college days.

When you got to the library, you placed your bag on Mrs. Kang's table and took out the book you were supposed to return.

You handed it to her with a strained smile. "Hey, I am on time though, aren't I Mrs. Kang? Plus, this is just a first time offence. I'm sure you can let it slide."

Mrs. Kang raised her eyebrow. "Fine, just this once," she slid the book underneath the scanner and mentioned, "Oh, you should go check out the Romantic Literature section; we finally got sent The Vicar of Wakefield."

You looked at her, puzzled. You were never really interested in works that emerged during the age of early eighteenth century Romanticism. She must have mixed you up with somebody else, but you began to walk towards the shelves anyways. If anything would help lighten your spirits, it would be re-reading Pride and Prejudice.

When you got there however, the most unexpected sight awaited you.

Your eyes drank in the sight of Seungmin, standing wearing a varsity jacket, white t-shirt and jeans. Dried rose petals littered the length of the aisle. Seungmin was holding up an open book with it's pages folded to form the word 'Prom?'

As much as you hated to admit it, the sight took your breath away.

Seungmin cocked his head to the side. "I had to bribe her with my limited edition copy of Frankenstein."

"What- what is this?" you asked, your brain still numb from shock.

Seungmin bit his lip and looked at you. "This is me apologizing. You were right. I completely sidelined you when I shouldn't have. I truly respect and admire you and feel horrible that I made you feel like this. And I figured, that I should ask you to prom the way you deserve: with all the grandeur in the world."

His apology was one that you could have never imagined being the recipient of. Even fiction didn't predict something as thoughtful as this. Seungmin preparing an entire promposal for you, over just a hissy fit, was enough to thaw your temporarily frozen heart.

You looked at him open-mouthed. "But I thought you didn't even like me that way."

Despite how hard he tried to contain it, tones of mischief slipped through Seungmin's voice. "Would it be so bad if I did?"

What? This couldn't be real. This was most definitely not happening. You pinched yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming, because never in your wildest dreams would such a scene have ever taken place.

Seungmin must have somehow read your mind because he quickly stuttered, "Not that I do. I mean I like you. But not in that way. Like, I asked you since we have to spend the entire night together anyways. I'm sorry for making this weird."

You let out an exhale, chiding yourself for being so gullible. It was just Seungmin being Seungmin. You spared a glance at his eyes, full of anticipation. You wanted to say no. If you didn't, you knew you would be in too deep.

You took a step forward to refuse his request when your eyes fell on his hand. The sight awaiting you knocked the wind out of your body.

You already noticed Seungmin's baggy eyes, attributing it to lack of sleep because he was busy doing whatever guys do. But his hands told the other half of the story.

They were adorned with paper cuts. Small scars like moons were imprinted on him in various stages of healing. One even had a bit of blood on it.

"Uh, yeah," said Seungmin, noticing your eyes drift down, "I spent all night making it. Let's just say that I'm really bad with paper and folding in any context and leave it at that."

"Seungmin," you whispered, your eyes tearing up. He offered you a tight smile.

"I should go. This was weird. I'm sorry."

"Wait!" you said in a tone that startled him, "I'll go. I'll go to prom with you. Officially."

Seungmin's eyes reflected a question of whether you were doing this genuinely. You hoped that your eyes reflected that you were. Seungmin may not ever come to like you romantically, in any sense. But you were happy with what you were being offered.

You were happy that Seungmin was the first person you thought yourself to have the potential to love.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - shit, it's prom!

You couldn't sleep all night.

The frenzied prolepsis that clouded your mind refused to escape. 'What if's?' and 'Should have's?' regarding the event clouded your head. You thought that you would feel more nervous about your experience at prom, but it was all the planning that got to your head.

If you were a wreck, however, then Seungmin was a fucking natural disaster.

He texted you without pause, your phone blowing up so much that even Riya had to ask you if everything was okay. His chats varied, from long rants about how Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, despite Felix's apparent protests, and immense worry about how prom would turn out.

You didn't blame him. You were just as anxious as him, even if you weren't as vocal about it. This mammoth event was like yours's and Seungmin's baby. You were so concentrated on making sure that everything went according to plan, that the idea of you going to prom with Seungmin was pushed to the dark and dusty corner of your brain.

"You have been texting Seungmin a lot lately," teased Riya as she curled her hair.

"Shut up," you told her smoothly, already armed with blackmail material, "Or else I will smack you and tell Hyunjin about your Shah Rukh Khan shrine."

She effortlessly shut up.

You ran from one room to the other, your dorm house common room and back, pacing and placing calls and confirming and reminding people of what had to be done. You were in such a rush that you hadn't even started to get ready.

In your panicked chaos, you slammed into an already ready Felix. His white suit was immaculate, small roses embroidered on the sides. His blond hair was tousled and his easy smile gave you a bit of reassurance amidst the hectic situations you were constantly throwing yourself in.

"Felix! What are you doing here? You look amazing, by the way." You pulled him in for a quick hug, distracted by a call you had to make.

"I'm here to pick up my date, Jeongin," Felix smirked.

You let out a cough. "What?"

Felix laughed. "I didn't have a date and thought that he deserves to come since he has helped so much. So, I offered him my plus one ticket."

Ah, that made sense. You wondered why Jeongin didn't go with one of the senior girls on his roster of ladies in waiting. Then you remembered that he thought of himself as some sort of a chivalrous gentleman.

"Why haven't you gotten ready yet?" Felix questioned.

"Oh, I was just-," you began, before Felix sternly interrupted you.

"Don't you dare say you were wrapping things up. You and I both know that your definition of wrapping things up is frantically quadruple checking everything," Felix scolded, "You will stop worrying and get ready."

You just sighed in response, "I wish I could but-"

"No buts," he said, his eyes softening. "This night is yours as much as everybody else's. If anything, it's mostly yours."

Before you could sweetly respond to Felix with a resounding refusal, Jisung, per usual, appeared out of thin hair. His suit coat looked a little small and you vaguely remembered yearbook pictures of Chan during his prom, wearing almost the exact same suit coat, minus the little hand stitched lightening bolt on the side pocket.

"This," Jisung motioned towards you with a flourish of his right hand, "Is unacceptable."

Felix promptly agreed. You flashed him a withering glare and he slightly wavered, but it was of no use. You had lost the battle before it had even begun.

Twenty minutes later, you, Jisung and Felix were in your dorm room. No matter your protests, they insisted on helping you get ready for prom night. The two of them did your hair and makeup while you pondered on how you couldn't do it yourself half as good as they did.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

When they were done, you gasped in surprise. They made you look a beautiful you thought you weren't capable of outwardly being.

Your dress in itself was majestic, at least in your eyes. It didn't exactly fit the theme, but the moment you saw it, you knew you needed to have it. It marveled you to no end about how someone could leave something that looked so incredible in a small thrift store next to the coffee shop you frequented.

The dress was silver, shimmering in a shade of what you only knew to be 'almost white' when light struck it. The bodice was in the shape of fairy wings, the sides laced crisscrossed and showing the smallest bit of skin. The back was covered, and the dress flowed down to reach your feet like a cascading waterfall. It was sleeveless, and so you wore long, winding silver bracelets on each hand.

Your make was done almost professionally by Felix. He used a colour pallet of silvery white, not exaggerating your make up. He brushed your hair calmly and tied two strands of it in a braid, pull them back to make a sort of halo. Felix clipped butterflies into your hair and made you feel like a mythical creature stepping out from a fantasy novel. Narnia, maybe.

Jisung on the other hand, provided food, gossip and entertainment. You would never reveal this to him, but you found that very vital to the process of getting ready as well.

"You are so good at this," you gushed at Felix.

He looked at you calmly. "I have two sisters, and I'm the middle kid. As a consequence, I was often my older sister's model for all things fashion and my younger sister's personal stylist."

Jisung munched on a piece of cake which you had no idea was even there in your kitchen. He sat on a barstool and clapped when you came out and gave him a spin. His feet rocked back and forth while he cheered you on.

"See," he said to Felix pointedly. "I am a better wingman than you."

Felix looked immeasurably hurt. "Not as good as me though. You didn't even help me!"

"I did, didn't I?" Jisung looked at you with those boba eyes that you found extremely hard to resist.

In response, you ushered them both out of the house in order to not get pulled into conflict and be the cause of an unsatisfactory prom night. Plus, you wanted to get there early and check on the venue.

Well, that and also to (mostly), see Seungmin.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You spotted him before he could see you.

Seungmin looked ethereal in his silver suit, his hair swept to the side and hands in his pockets as he engaged in easy conversation with one of the teachers.

He looked like a song you could listen to for the rest of your life until you were maddened by it but never turn it off. He looked like a painting that you could stare at as it dried, like a work of art you spend countless hours and dollars just to catch a glimpse.

And, he matched with you.

When you mentioned to him in passing that your prom dress was silver in colour, you hadn't actually expected him to wear something of a similar, much less the same colour. And yet he did, and you went down a spiral of feelings once again.

Seungmin's eyes must have found you because he sauntered over to you like a man with a purpose.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in awe, "But then again, you do everyday."

You blushed, hoping that the shitty lighting would hide it. "You look incredible yourself Seungmin," you said lightly, "And you somehow look good everyday, despite only running off of caffeine and spite.

Seungmin threw his head back an infectious laughter that had caused you to laugh as well. Someone called his name from the background in the middle of your laughter. Another louder, more insistent call of his name floated towards your general direction. Seungmin dipped his head in apology and walked away.

He had told you that you look beautiful. Not your dress, not your make up, not your hair. Not the meaningless, material attire that clung onto you like tinsel on a Christmas. But he said that you, you, look beautiful.

Seungmin wasn't looking you up and down when he said so, like men in the movies did. He didn't look like he was trying to memorize your body, memorize the dips and curves where he could place his hand and mold his being into yours.

No, he looked you in the eye when he said at, as if he didn't believe that it was the clothes that made you look beautiful. He looked you in the eye as if everything that made you, well, you was what made you so beautiful in his sight.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You stood in a moment of peace, finally standing still since reaching the venue.

The moment you took a deep breath and closed your eyes, however, a guttural screech and the sound of howling teenage boys flooded your ears. Sighing in irritation, you opened one eye to asses the situation. Deciding that it warranted you opening the other eye as well, you walked over to the culprits and sternly told them off.

You probably jinxed any peace that would possibly be coming your way by stealing away those five minutes for yourself.

Bad karma, bad decisions.

Seungmin was watching the entire altercation with a faint smirk. He walked over to you and tapped you on the shoulder. You didn't know it was him, and were about to tell him off as well until his familiar scent reached you.

You glared at the gaggle of seniors who has no right to be called seniors and turned to Seungmin.

"May I please have this dance?" he asked with a smirk.

You raised an eyebrow at him and placed your hand in his. "The theme is Aphrodite's Garden, not 18th century Regency era Bridgerton," you quipped.

Seungmin was subject to torture at your hands, also known as, watching Bridgerton with you. He would never admit it, but you knew he liked it. In fact, he may have even enjoyed it more than you. Either that, or you were hallucinating him being on his Simone Ashley Twitter fan account.

Your arms went around his neck as Seungmin guided you to the dancefloor. "I can't really dance," you murmured, the close contact between you both making your head go haywire.

"Neither do I," he winked.

Seungmin's eyes bored into yours and you licked your lips self-consciously. Considering you incredible luck, the song was slow and sensual. Considering your incredible luck, less than twenty seconds into the song playing, a loud crashing sound was heard in the background.

You prayed to God to help salvage prom, and no, that god was not Taylor Swift.

"I'll handle it," Seungmin reassured you.

"I'm a big girl," you bristled, "I can handle it as well."

"I know you are," Seungmin mused, "But I also know you well enough to know that those heels are absolutely killing you right now."

You pressed your lips in a thin line. No matter your feelings for Kim Seungmin, you still hated when he was right. You flashed him the tiniest smile in a way of saying 'thank you', since you were too proud to actually do it. He took it in stride and went away to handle whatever it was that needed handling at the moment.

He left you alone with your thoughts if such situations weren't confined so momentarily and were instead something you could enjoy for eternity.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You decided to step out of the venue for a bit, to finally clear you head. The atmosphere of prom buzzed with electricity and it wasn't the good, energetic kind; it was more of the kind that made your hair frizz.

You were standing, staring at the stars when you felt the air shift beside you. You knew who it was even without sparing a glance at them.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," you whispered to him.

"They are, but I have seen sights today that even rival them," Seungmin said. His voice was missing his trademark sass.

Your heart thumped incessantly as you asked, "Trying out cheesy pick up lines on me now, are we?"

Seungmin laughed, "Now would that be so bad?"

You both stood in silence. You bent down, opened your heels and set them to the side. You felt Seungmin looking at you, but you kept looking at the sky.

The sky, which was ever changing, yet reflected the same shades everyday. The sky, that served as a medium of rain and thunder, sunlight and rainbows. The sky, that was always there in you life, unwavering and never faltering.

Sky, which was coincidentally Seungmin's English name. It suited him.

"I really like the constellation of Orion," you told him with a sideways glance.

"I know. I remember."

"How? I mean, how do you remember all this?"

"I remember everything you tell me," Seungmin repeated, like he did all those months ago.

"Why?" you asked. You asked because you wanted to know, needed to know and repent your mistake of not asking earlier.

Seungmin turned to face you. His eyes held no glint of mischief, no edge accompanied by teasing. Instead, you felt locked in his gaze. It was the kind of intense stare that made you think that he was about to spill all his sins at your feet, right here, right now.

"I remember everything because it's you who says it. I used to remember because I wanted to beat you, be better than you. Then I started to remember as a habit, noticing the smallest quirks about you. Now I remember because I want to be there for you, to help you."

This wasn't happening. This wasn't real. But how much longer would you say that to yourself until you were imbibed with it?

"There is an ugly mix of feelings inside me regarding you, Y/N. They went initially from animosity, to something akin to friendship, to now, the desire for something with you that's more than just platonic."

He gulped. You swallowed. Silence.

"I am drawn to you, Y/N L/N. From the moment I have met you, it has felt like my life is irreversibly tangled with yours. I am propelled towards like it's pre-destined, and I always have. There are times where I feel like I cannot exist if you do not exist. And I'm tired of brushing these feelings aside, acting like they're non-existent."

"I like you, and not telling you has quite nearly driven me to the brink of insanity. It's alright, if you don't feel the same, but please don't walk away without an answer for me."

His gaze averted yours when he finally finished. You looked at him in awe, unable to express how you felt his brilliance radiate off him when he perfectly articulated all the feelings that restlessly capsized land in the empty spaces of your mind.

"For someone really smart, Kim," you breathed, "You are extremely stupid."

"You mean..." Seungmin's voice trailed off. Now it was his turn to look at you in awe.

"I have the feeling that you're trying not to kiss me, and I give you permission to just do it," you announced.

Seungmin gave you a wild smile before his lips swooped in to meet yours. They tasted like fruit punch and chocolate cake, like promises and forever.

You might have been imagining it, but for one cosmic moment, it felt like the stars were shining brighter than the usually did. Two binary stars had finally found each other, finally made their way into each other's orbits, never to stray again.

His lips left yours with a small gasp. "That was my first kiss," you mumbled sheepishly.

Seungmin fiddled with the flaps of his suit coat nervously. He started babbling, "Really? This was, I think, my third. Once at camp and once last year but that was just spin the bottle-"

You cut him off with a smirk. "Let's make it a fourth time, shall we?" and you promptly shut him up by placing your lips on his.

You weren't jealous of the other people Seungmin had kissed. God knows how awful this entire experience would have been if you both were going into it as novices. If anything, you were glad you were the third person he was kissing, because in that celestial moment, you made a vow.

You may not be the first person Seungmin had kissed, but you would make damn well sure to be the last.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

t - girl, it's the epilogue!

Seungmin yawned and wrapped his arm around your waist, practically caging you to the bed. He let out whine when you tried to get out of his grasp and just pulled you closer. You poked him in the side until he yelped.

"Kim Seungmin, you are not skipping work today. I know this display of affections is just so that I concede and let you stay home for cuddles," you told him sternly.

"But it worked last time. And the time before that. And the time before-"

"Well, it won't work this time," you announced with an air of finality.

If anything, being in a relationship with Seungmin only increased the penchant for banter you both had. You both rarely disagreed on things, but went back and forth for fun anyways. You knew your boundaries and never crossed them, but argued like cats and dogs nonetheless.

Well, you called it arguing. Seungmin called it flirting.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

You both finally pulled up at Seungmin's workplace and you snorted when you saw the building gates. Seungmin drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and looked at you with a smile that you gave back. It was his first day on the job as Principal.

It had been ten years since you stepped foot on the campus of Park Academy.

"The legacy of Principal Kims continues," you giggled, proud of yourself for making that joke.

"That's because Kims are superior," Seungmin declared.

"That is literally so offensive," you flicked him arm lightly.

Seungmin's eyes met yours and a familiar look in it made you outwardly dread and inwardly prepare to rebut whatever he was going to tell you.

"You shouldn't say that," he snickered, "Considering that you'll be an honorary Kim yourself soon."

Oh. Oh.

It would be a week until students started coming to campus, there classes yet to start. When Seungmin mentioned this to you, you asked if you could come along to see the campus once. The campus where you fell in love with him.

"You might be a hot shot CEO," Seungmin relentlessly teased, "But it's good to go back to your roots sometimes."

It was ironic how you called his mother more than he did.

Your feet subconsciously guided you to the library. You loved this library. It was the place where you spent some of the best moments of your life. This was where you slowly fell in love with Seungmin, uncovering him layer by layer until you could call him yours.

You felt a laugh bubble up your throat when you made your way to the Romantic Literature section. Seungmin gave you a poor attempt at a smile as he observed you. In fact, he looked extremely nervous, a sharp juxtaposition to the flirty demeanor of his just a few minutes ago.

You could count on one hand the amount of times you had seen Seungmin being nervous.

It must have been anxiety surrounding the promotion. You reached over to squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring pat. Once you were sure that he would be fine, you turned back to prodding at the books shelved on the wall as if they were part of some lab experiment.

Once you were satisfied, you turned to give Seungmin the signal to go, when you stumbled backwards at what was in front of you.

Seungmin stood down on one knee, a box in his hand, with the most beautiful ring you had ever seen inside it.

"What?" you asked, your voice shaky. Tears instantly began to spring up in your eyes.

This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. But it was. The man you had loved for a decade was here, in front of you, wordlessly asking to turn those ten years into the rest of a shared forever.

"I had a really dramatic speech planned," he rambled, "But I forgot since I'm kind of terrified and you do always tell me to speak from my heart so here goes nothing."

"I have probably mentioned this thousands of times, but I have felt a magnetic pull towards you since the moment I first interacted with you. I didn't know what it would turn into then, but I knew it was going to be something, and I have been eternally grateful that it was love."

"To put it simply: every single infinitesimal particle that makes me in hopelessly in love with every infinitesimal particle that makes you. I love you, so, so much. I have been yearning for a forever with you before I even knew it so; will you marry me?"

He stopped with a sniff and swiped the sleeve of his sweater across his eyes. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to cry."

It all came full circle, didn't it? Ten years ago, he asked you to prom. Ten years later, he offered you eternity.

You let out a laugh and threw yourself at him, peppering him with kisses. "And you said you didn't want to come to work today," you laughed in between your cuddle attack.

"So, this means yes?"

You face palmed. "This means yes, Seungmin. Yes, I will marry you. In every universe, I know that I will spend the rest of my life with you."

Seungmin gathered you in his arms and kissed you like he was burning and you were oxygen. Binary stars, burning and burning, bleeding into each other in every reality because, there could never be you without him, one without the other.

Ten years ago, you swore that you would be the last person Seungmin would ever kiss.

Ten years later, nobody could say that you weren't a woman of your word.

please reblog and comment if you liked this fic! it means everything to me and I love reading your thoughts <3

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@squishybinnieee @lastgreatamericandynasty1 @stayinlimbo @farfromsugafanfic

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: ̗̀➛ battleground taglist:

@starseungs @starlostseungmin @moon0fthenight @brainrotahahaha

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I'm excited to read this!

﴾ i drink your blood and i eat your skin

pairing: vampire! hwang hyunjin x f!reader

general warnings: this story will contain gore, violence, strong language, slow burn, potential smut and classic vampire things, also reader’s body is being described to be more on the chubbier side

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ongoing series masterlist

playlist

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part one

part two

part three

part four

part five

part six

part seven

part eight

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---

♰ ⱠɆ₲łØ₦ ♰

♰ Pairings: demon!matz x chubby!fem!reader, demon!wooyoung x chubby!fem!reader, a sprinkle of demon!san x chubby!fem!reader, (eventual priest yeosang/jongho/yungi x chubby!fem!reader in the future)

♰ Genre: demon au/horror/smut

♰ Summary: Congratulations, darling! It's your destiny to be impregnated by four demons in an ancient Satanic sex ritual that'll lead to the birth of the Antichrist and bring about the end times. Now hop down into this demons' layer and let's get this thing going. Armageddon awaits.

♰ Word Count: 3.1kish

♰ Warnings: breeding kink, unprotected sex, no pulling out, double vaginal penetration, overstimulation, nipple play, breast play, rough sex, lots of breath play, ritualistic sex, scratching, a lil blood, oral sex (f receiving), sensory play, a lil nibbling, huge huge demon dicks so there's mucho vaginal stretching, the dicks can shapeshift (yes, shapeshift), demons give some dom vibes, reader's for sure subby, a lil possessiveness, demonic powers, religious themes, bondage, a lil choking, telepathy, your body's controlled via powers at some point, pet names (pet, little one, darling, good girl), and that should be it.

♰ A/N: Hold on, hear me out, I can explain. No, I can't. I'm a heathen. I like spooky shit and fucking demons so, ya know, here we are. This is the first part in a series I'm writing and it'll probably only get more unhinged from here honestly so, yeah, hop in babes. It's apocalypse time.

“And he asked him, ‘What is thy name?’And he answered saying, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many’” - Matthew 5:9

♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ Laberinto del Demonio ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰

Tucked away on the tree shrouded grounds of an aging Spanish manor, a labyrinth spirals deep into the earth. Beneath the lush grass and packed dirt, surrounded by the twisted roots of trees that feast upon the decaying corpses of those who attempt to intrude, this labyrinth is home to fearsome creatures who’ve peacefully slumbered here for hundreds of years. But tonight they awaken. For you. 

“Such a beautiful girl. Just let me…” Wooyoung compliments, fussing with a few flyaway strands of your hair. In the year that’s passed since Wooyoung came into your life all he’s done is fuss over you. You’ve never known a more attentive lover. Never met a man so intent on catering to your every whim.

Wooyoung likes to say that it’s the Fates that brought the two of you together but that’s more than a grave exaggeration on his part, it’s an outright lie. If he’d waited on the Fates it’d have been another 200 years before he stumbled upon a female descendant of your bloodline. Finding you by any means necessary, however brutal, was paramount to fulfill his mission and to soothe the heart that ached for what he lost when his love was stripped from him all those centuries ago.

Your resemblance to her is uncanny but everything else about you is incredibly unique. It stimulates him in endless ways, everyday with you marked by some new, exciting experience. He adores you beyond measure and the others, soaking you in through their collective consciousness, have grown incredibly fond of you too. 

“There. Perfect, as always” he smiles, taking a step back to admire your silk adorned figure glowing under the light of the moon.

Atop the labyrinth, you admire the torch lit staircase that spirals beneath you. It emits a certain energy that hangs heavy in the crisp autumn air, drawing you towards it. You know what awaits you tonight. Wooyoung went over it with you a dozen times in the last 24 hours alone. It’s something you long for, something that has your body flush with heat at the mere thought of. Yet you can’t seem to shake the nerves that have your fingers trembling as the handsomely dressed dark haired man takes your hand.

Wooyoung strokes your cheek and you soften at his touch, “Are you nervous, my pet?” 

“Not nervous. It’s just…” you sigh, nibbling at your inner lip, “What if I’m not who you think I am? What if I can’t handle it?” 

Wooyoung lets out a laugh you’ve come to liken to a jackal. Loud, mischievous, and undeniably his. “Can’t handle it? It’s that all you’re worried about?” 

He steps in closer to you, stealing a quick, passionate kiss from your crimson stained lips. “You were made for this. In every lifetime you have been and in every lifetime you’ll always be. Now come, the others are waiting.” You soak in Wooyoung’s words, forever a sponge ready to absorb his praise, and gift him the faint smile he needs to lead you forward.

Less forward, more down. 

Down past walls built of jagged stone, thick vines weaving between the cracks sprouting tiny emerald flowers you’ve never seen before. Down past ancient symbols carved in meticulously measured increments. It seems to be instructions of some sort. For what you aren’t sure but a tugging in the pit of your stomach tells you that you’ll soon find out. 

At last reaching the bottom of the labyrinth you find yourself in a cavernous room dimly illuminated by a hundred or so candles. At the center you spot a large pool of slithering black silk not unlike that which hugs your body. Wooyoung leads you to the center and, as he does, you feel the material begin to writhe against your skin. It snakes its way around your curves, exposing your plush figure to the warmth of the pit as you sense you’ve become one with it.

A chorus of voices begin whispering in your ear, invisible hands grasping at your most intimate areas. Wooyoung captures your lips in another kiss, already groaning at thoughts of what he has planned for you. His hands wander below your waist, fingernails growing sharper as they sink into the softness of your ass. You throw your arms around him, deepening the kiss, but he indulges you only for a brief moment before he begins to back away.

“Soon, my love” he says without speaking a word, “See you on the other side.” 

“Woo, wait!” you call out to him but a strong wind whips through the room, extinguishing the flames of the outer candles and swallowing him into darkness. The force of the wind knocks you off your feet but you land with no impact at all, the pit catching you in its embrace, thin strips of silk winding around your thighs. The air around you floods with laughter layered upon laughter, Woo’s melded somewhere in between. 

“Aah, finally I see her through my own eyes” a voice breathes out, tickling your spine. 

“Such a precious little human. So cute” another much deeper voice hums, the vibration ringing through your chest. 

“And she looks so, so…” a third voice chimes in, light as a feather, “Soft!” 

In the blink of an eye the silk wrapped around your thigh transforms into a hand, pitch black with razor sharp claws dripping a thick scarlet liquid down your leg. You let out a scream of absolute terror and it transforms back into the harmless material. It’s as if it were all in your head and the hand was never there to begin with.

“Seonghwa, you’re scaring her!” Wooyoung shouts and invisible arms envelope you, comforting you as your fear subsides. 

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I got a little carried away” Seonghwa apologizes, emerging from the pit in his human form.

He swims through the pit as if it were a pool, only his torso visible as he comes between your legs, his much gentler hands smoothing their way up your thigh. You don’t recognize the face of this beautifully androgynous creature but you’re positive you’ve felt his energy around you before.

“Is this better for you?” he asks, breath hitching at the sight of the slick, sweet arousal dripping from your core. 

“Seonghwa?” you moan his name for the first time as his tongue extends to flick your bud. “Woo’s told me so much about you.”

A shimmer of gold ripples across the dark pools that sit where his eyes should be, lips curling into a grin that’s both alluring and sinister. “Aah and what did he tell you about me? Good things?” he asks, his tongue whipping down to prod your tight hole. Seonghwa delights in the string of moans you release as he teases you, pushing his moist tongue into you little by little. Your walls eager to grant him entrance, stretching to accommodate the increasing thickness and length of his tongue. 

“Good? Y-yes, good” you breathe out, shocked at the depths his tongue manages to reach. There are no limitations, no bottoming out. He slips his way into every part of you. Tickling the back of your stomach, lapping at your walls in every direction at once. You can taste yourself on the back of your tongue, a sudden fullness in your throat suppressing your desperate moans. Your body’s no longer yours. It does only what he wishes it to. Moves only as he commands. 

“You’re being greedy. Share her. Now” something inhuman growls, breaking through the fog in your mind.

It’s not something you were meant to hear, the shedding of those performative voices existing solely for your comfort, but you’re far from afraid. On the contrary, such brutality laced with so much need has you clenching tighter, juices gushing out of you as Seonghwa’s tongue thrusts harshly into your core.

Seonghwa grunts defiantly, lifting you a few inches above the pit without laying a finger on you. Your arms dangle at your sides, fingertips grasping at nothing as your body arches against air. Droplets of your arousal run down your thigh, landing on the silk below and the creatures around you release a collective sigh of satisfaction. They can taste you, the ghost of your flavor lingering on their tongues. 

“You are like the other women in your bloodline…” the inhuman voice whispers, becoming more human the closer it gets, “Delicious.”

Two hands reach from outside of your field of vision to caress your plump breasts, firmly pinching your sensitive nipples. Your head falls to the side and you're met with another new face. This one more boyish in his handsomeness but more authoritative in his presence. Wooyoung told you that you’d know his leader when you met him. That you’d feel this immense need to gain his approval, to be as obedient to him as you can be.

“This is Hongjoong” you think and the leader smiles in response.

“Delicious and smart, mmm” he hums, leaning into your neck and breathing your scent deep into his lungs. “Let her speak.” 

The fullness vacates your throat at once, leaving you gasping for air, all those suppressed moans echoing off the labyrinth’s walls. Seonghwa’s tongue flutters softly inside of you now, his pace slowing just enough for you to speak. 

“You know what you’re here for, don’t you little one? Our Wooyoung’s explained it to you well?” Hongjoong asks, kissing you on the neck, his canines nicking at your smooth, fragrant flesh.

You let out a whine, adrenaline coursing through your veins, “Yes…he…everything…told me.”

Hongjoong laughs at your incoherence, finding it quite adorable, “And this is what you want? To let us have our way with you?” He releases one of your breasts, twisting the bud one last time before his hand's gliding down your body to grab handfuls of your belly. “To let us fill you with our seed and let it grow so that we’ll be, all of us, a family?” 

You’re fixated on him, a constellation of tears twinkling on your lashes, “I want it. I want this.” 

“Aah, then we shouldn’t waste any more time” Hongjoong sighs, gesturing to Seonghwa, “Let’s take her together, shall we?” 

Seonghwa’s tongue retreats slowly from your core in an S motion that makes the tip lash sharply at your walls on its way out. The space between you and the pit below begins to close, all current information misleading you to believe the arms you fall into will belong to Hongjoong.

“Relax your body and watch the skies” Seonghwa instructs as you fall against his chest and the vines between the stone walls climb their way up the ceiling. They radiate a vibrant amethyst, the sprouting emerald flowers emitting a sparkling dust that mists through the air. A trail of it drifts down the wall, drawing your attention to the shadows cast upon it by the light of the candles.

That’s when you see it. The silhouette of the creature crawling its way up your body. You’ve yet to feel him but he’s there, advancing up your figure, twisted horns brushing your cheek as it’s face meets yours. Hongjoong takes you carefully by the throat, tilting your head to face him in his human form, “The skies not the shadows, pet. Never our shadows.” It isn’t a threat and it need not be. Your obedience is promised, sealed with a kiss richer than any wine.

Hongjoong’s mouth sips hungrily from yours as he spreads your legs, the swollen head of his cock leaking arousal as it stretches your already soaked core. “Mmphmm” you whine between his lips, your lids squeezing shut the further he pushes into you. He grants pleasure to your walls unlike any the earthly realm could bring. He seems to transform inside of you, shifting into whatever he must to perfectly fill every ridge of your delicate pussy.

Your body wants to clench around him, to feel him as completely as it can but, no matter how hard you try, an invisible barrier prevents it. Anatomy 101 dictates that, with the size of what you’ve taken, there should be not a centimeter of free space. By all means you should be screaming in agony, not pouring out such blissful moans. But, as Woo said, you were made for this and so there’s room still when Seonghwa’s palms come to rest behind your knees, hips rising to lift his pulsing length into your warmth.

Your eyes fall open and Hongjoong breaks from the kiss, freeing you to gurgle and moan as you at last watch the skies. There’s no need for clenching now, no possible way for you to do so. Buried deep within you, they exist both as one and as two. As one when they thrust into you, their demonic growls contrasting the lightness of your moans. As two when they split at the head, charting their own courses to punish your tender nerve endings. 

Seonghwa nuzzles against your neck, licking beads of sweat from your shoulder before it extends down to trace your collarbone. Hongjoong cups one of your breasts, fingertips digging into its plushness as he purses his lips around your nipple, suckling at the bud. Seonghwa’s tongue envelopes your other breast, the tip of his tongue circling your nipple.

Your body’s overcome with an unnatural heat that ravages you like a wildfire. Your mind’s whirling as you think of everything and nothing at once. Your teary eyes remain glued to the skies—always the skies, never their shadows—and your senses begin to shift. No longer are you smelling the honeyed scent of the flowers, you’re tasting it. And what you smell are colors, amethyst and emerald now aromatic as if they were herbs. 

“You are such a beauty to behold” Hongjoong’s voice praises, breaking through the fractured barriers of your mind. 

Seonghwa’s voice coasts in after his. “We haven’t felt this alive in centuries” it says, tickling your consciousness as does the breath at the back of your neck. “Maybe we could keep her like this. Whining and quivering between us. Forever our plaything. Would you like that, darling?” 

Hongjoong dips a hand between your legs, gathering your slick and dragging his drenched fingers across your lips. His laughter rings out in your head, “I think she likes the idea of it. Maybe…”

“Aaah!” you let out a scream that cracks to pieces in your throat. You’re hit with a rush that makes you feel absolutely feral, your nails thrashing at Hongjoong’s back as it overtakes you. 

“Good girl” he coos, unphased by the blood trickling from his wounds, “Come your pretty little brains out for us.” 

Seonghwa allows your legs to drop, strips of silk reaching up to coil around your ankles. His arms come around your waist, keeping you in place to fuck into you harder and faster. Thrusting. Pulsing. Claiming you. Flooding you with their seed until it’s spilling from your core and you’re coming all over their cocks, soaking them in your juices. Never in your life have you felt this perfect. This complete.

It’s impossible to differentiate between the labored breathing shared between the three of you. Even as you drift down from your high your breaths all sound as if they’ve left the same body. You arrived at this place a human but maybe now not as much. A part of you has been given away and, if it means feeling this way forever, you don’t want it back. 

Seonghwa softly brushes your hair away from your cheek, showering it in kisses, “You’ll rest with us now.” 

“Don’t be afraid” Hongjoong says, kissing his way down your tummy, “It can get a bit dark down here.”

“Down where?” you ask weakly before you’re snatched beneath the surface of the pit. Instinctively you begin flailing your limbs in a desperate attempt to keep yourself from drowning but your panic’s soothed by the two sets of arms cuddling up to you.

Surrounded by their warmth, you let the darkness swallow you and drift off to sleep. 

♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ 2. Despertar ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰ ♰

“Woo!” you scream, shooting upright, your heart pounding in your ears. You can’t fathom how long you’ve been asleep, the finer details of the previous events lost in the haze of sleep. You look around for Woo, for any of them, but you’re met only with the light, sparkling mist that hung from the ceiling above the pit.

Stretching your aching legs you feel something slink across them. “Wh…what is this?” you gasp, watching the fluorescent vines curiously explore your figure. Flower buds bloom as the vines reach between your legs, curving to ride your thighs up and around your torso. 

“Pretty aren’t they?” Woo asks, appearing behind you without a sound. 

“Woo, you scared me!” you pout, tempted to elbow him in the shin for frightening you so terribly. 

Woo crouches down to loop his arms around you from behind. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be so easily frightened all things considered” he teases, resting his chin on your shoulder. A graceful wave of his hand and he’s plucked a flower from the vine, twirling it before your eyes. You marvel at its beauty, the emerald glow creating a halo around your irises.

“Where do these come from?” you ask, brimming with wonder.

There’s a rustling in a nearby corner, the silhouette of a broad shouldered man emerging from the darkness. He smiles at you as he steps into the light of the mist, striking you with his features. Woo tucks the flower behind your ear, pointing to the approaching man. “They come from the mountain.” 

The man kneels before you, his dimpled cheeks inches from your face, and the vines tighten around you at his will. “But you can call me San” he says, obviously as smitten with you as you are with him. “Are you ready for us, love?”

You swallow hard and take your last full breath of air before the vine’s snug around your neck. “Yes, mmm, ready” you moan softly, surrendering to the strength of the vines. 

San takes you by the chin, his thumb tracing your jawline, “Hmm, breaking you will be fun. Just try not to look down too much. Might get lightheaded.” 

“Down?” you ask, glancing around at the bed of vines. You put all of your focus into watching them, searching for something you might’ve missed. But they’re as they were before, humming and glowing, doing their master’s bidding.

San guides your head in the opposite direction, revealing the pit of writhing black silk and the room illuminated with candles. 

“Oh, darling, haven’t you figured it out yet? You aren't down there anymore” Wooyoung laughs, tossing a flower into the air and watching it drift down into the pit, “You’re up here.” 

Holy fuck this is just too good!!

A little death never killed anybody (18+)

Synopsis: As lead curator at The Egyptian Museum of Cairo, you would think you’d be treated with respect at The National Museum of Korea. Especially as guest lecturer on one of the most valuable artifacts in the world. Apparently not, you realise, while you’re being chucked out the door by the most obnoxiously gorgeous man you’ve ever seen. Oh, he has no idea what he’s in for.

Content info: Minho x afab reader, one-shot, non-idol Minho, enemies to lovers trope, slight angst/fluff/smut

General Warnings: Smut (specifics under the cut), unwanted attention (nothing too serious)

Word Count: 12k

Strayerthings Masterlist

a/n: It's heeeereeee! I tried something different - let me know how you find it! If you have any requests for the next one, pop me a message 🌻🖤

Smut: dom/sub dynamics, semi-public fingering, oral sex (m/f receiving), unprotected sex (don't), nickname (kitten)

Explicit content - minors do not interact.

Man you were tired. The flight had been long, not to mention the preparations before and after. You had gone straight to the National Museum of Korea as soon as you landed. Didn’t want the damned thing out of your sight. But now where was he? You were supposed to meet thirty minutes ago but there was no one around and he wasn’t picking up. The displays were pretty, however, so you wandered aimlessly around whilst calling your boss. God, you needed a shower.

“Hello, Y/n? Did everything go to plan?”

“Hey! Yeah, well, I’m at the museum but I can’t locate Dr Son? He’s not answering and this place is massive…” You trailed off as you noticed a beautiful canopic jar, topped by the baboon head of Hapy. New Kingdom for sure. Your boss said he would try his phone and get back to you. It was just as you had your nose to the glass that you noticed a man standing off to the side. This gave you a fresh wave of hope and so you turned around and approached him.

“Hi! Sorry, but do you work here?”

The man stared disdainfully down at your outfit and you followed his line of vision. So what if you were wearing ripped jeans and a comfy tee? You admit, your stained sneakers were a bit overkill but you had just flown from Cairo for god’s sake. You looked back up at him and noticed what he was wearing - crisply pressed black trousers, shiny shoes, a white shirt rolled up to his elbows and the most ridiculous watch you’d ever seen. Inflated kingdom for sure. But you had to admit - if it weren’t for the massive scowl on his chiseled visage, he would have been quite pretty to look at. His dark hair framed his face well and his pouty, pink lips softened his sharp features. He still hadn’t answered you so you cleared your throat and spoke slower - just in case he couldn’t understand. Foolproof method as always.

“I’m looking for Dr Son, head curator?” You mimed and gestured as best you could but still nothing. It was only when you pulled up the Google translate app that his mouth moved.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

You blinked. The museum was open, wasn’t it? You scanned the room and found a few people studying the display cases. You turned back to him in confusion.

“I’m sorry, what do you mean? I’m looking for your head cu-”

“Do you know how priceless the artifacts in this museum are? How much it cost to have this masterpiece built in the Yongsan Family Park? And here you are, sauntering in, wearing those atrocious clothes and obnoxiously ranting into your phone. It is absolutely disrespectful to the patrons - not to mention the way you just greeted me. ‘Hi?’ Learn a couple words of Korean if you’re going to explore our culture. If you don’t believe me, look around you!”

You followed his instructions wordlessly, noticing how some people were glancing your way. 

Fuck. The colour bled across your cheeks and you had never felt so embarrassed in your life. Swallowing your indignation, you struggled to meet his gaze - opting to stare at your Air Forces instead. But no. Who was he to treat you like this? You had simply asked him a question and this was his response? You tilted your face up and shot him a glare - he sneered at what he saw.   

“I will tell Dr Son that a… vagrant has arrived for his attention but I reserve the right to remove you from the premises so you will kindly wait outside.”

The skin had tightened around his eyes and you knew this was no joke. You trailed after him dumbly and stepped outside, heart racing and hands clenching. You stood there fuming for a good fifteen minutes until you realised that he was, indeed, not going to find the head curator for you.

Fucking son of a bitch.

“And so, for the first time in history, The Egyptian Museum of Cairo has done us the great honour of lending our humble institution this monumental find. It will change the way we interpret the transition to life after death in the Ancient world. This would not have been possible without our tenacious benefactors as they have been working for months to secure the transportation and exhibition space. The museum has, thus, invited all of you, our esteemed members of society, to witness the unveiling of our rarest artifact, the Book of the Dead of the Priest of Horus, Imhotep.”

Minho nodded in approval from where he stood at the front of the hall. He was drinking in the words of Dr Son as he, himself, had worked to the bone in order to make this happen. He sipped the Moët champagne as the stress evaporated from his shoulders. Ever since he’d heard this text was held in Cairo, he had found himself obsessed. Perhaps it was macabre but he’d always been fascinated with death. Or, rather, eternal life. Elysian fields, Nirvana, Field of Reeds - call it what you will but Minho was ravenous. That’s not to say he believed in it but he didn’t want to not believe in it. To dismiss it was to give in to the notion that this was all there was. He was in a constant state of ennui and he felt the tie around his neck choke him more and more as the days went on. Oh, don’t misunderstand, he wasn’t religious, he didn’t believe in a Christian heaven or hell. Where was the fun in that? No, he wanted the Pagan amalgamation of pleasures and beauty. Where human flaws thrived and that was okay. So when he’d caught wind of a new text detailing the ceremony of entering the Egyptian afterlife he booked a ticket and studied the script in depth. It was fascinating, so much so that he needed to have it displayed to the Korean public. He pumped money into the museum, appealed to dear Dr Son and voila, six months later here he was. The exhibition would only run for a few weeks but still. The triumph dripped sweetly off his tongue. 

“Here to guide us through this momentous occasion is a jack of all trades. She has been working on this item for a year now and has travelled all the way from Cairo in order to share her findings. She has quite the reputation in the way of curating and conservating as she has worked in many of the world's finest museums - among those being the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and the British Museum in London. She will be here to help the educators and then will return the book to its rightful place. Please give a warm welcome to Dr L/n!”

The clapping started but Minho couldn’t see anything. The woman had clearly been standing at the back and the audience parted as she strode forward. When she entered his line of sight, his breath hitched. Now this was a woman. Her dress had clearly been tailored to the theme as the gold lamé material was an obvious indication of a modernised Old Kingdom look. The shimmering skirt flowed around her toned legs, the bodice clung to her just right and the straps snaked across her torso sensually. He thought it couldn’t get any better until he noticed how her skirt was split on either side. It was scandalous. It was sexy. He studied her side profile as she walked past him - her jewelry was understated, just a simple gold band around her upper arm and her hair was slightly curled. He thought back to the pitiful excuse he had encountered that morning and shivered in anticipation. He would make her notice him. But then the most horrific thing happened. As she climbed the steps, thanked the good doctor and turned around to face the crowd, he choked on his champagne. It was you. 

🐍

You squared your shoulders and proudly lifted your gaze to the audience. This was it, your moment. You lived for this. You stared affectionately at the display case next to you and sighed, arranging your thoughts. You started your lecture.

“This papyrus is inscribed for a priest of the god Horus named Imhotep. His coffin was found in 1913 at the cemetery of Meir, and this papyrus most likely comes from his burial. It was designed to help Imhotep make a successful transition from death to eternal life, and to ensure his safety and well-being in the realm of the dead. Written in a cursive script known as hieratic and read from right to left, it is divided into 182 columns, each containing one or more spells, incantations, or prayers. A continuous frieze of scenes along the top, as well as larger drawings filling the height of the papyrus, illustrate or substitute for individual spells. Neither texts nor images follow a narrative sequence, but instead represent a compilation of spells grouped, to some extent, by theme.”

As you spoke your eyes scanned the room, your confidence blooming at how the people drank you in, eyes sparkling. There was only one audience member not looking too pleased and your words faltered as you faced the man. It was him. Dressed impeccably, ringed-fingers gripping his champagne flute, he was gorgeous. But it was his expression that shook you out of that thought. You maintained strong eye contact for a second and as you saw his jaw clench, a smirk painted your lips. It was a pure Pretty Woman moment and the feeling rushed through your blood. His eyes narrowed and you continued to speak, turning away again. You detailed some of the spells and aspects of Imhotep’s tailored afterlife and when you were done, the applause was deafening. You bowed slightly, grinning from ear to ear, the gala continued and for the rest of the evening, you went around and met the suits. 

This was always the worst part for you. It wasn’t that you were shy or intimidated - rather the opposite. The benefactors pissed you off. Most of them weren’t interested in history at all - they just wanted to throw their money around and get off on the “importance” they exuded. As they were so entitled, they expected the staff to lie down at their feet - or, when it came to you, to get you on your knees. You weren’t going to apologise for dressing up at these things and you certainly weren’t going to step down for looking too young but the way they leered at you made your stomach curl in disgust. Furthermore, you could admit that perhaps you had committed a fashion faux pas in this country because none of the other ladies had any decolletage on display and they certainly didn’t have slits as high as yours. You narrowly avoided face-palming yourself and sucked in a deep breath, enduring their eyes on your legs. 

You noticed a look of awe on a woman’s face and turned around to see the insufferable git from this morning make his way to you. His eyes were sharp and even though you could see the steam coming out of his ears, he was still breathtaking. You internally groaned, must he look like this? You grabbed the nearest waiter and performed a disappearing act on a couple of champagne flutes.

The asshole placed himself opposite you in a ring of people who had lazily drifted closer, finery dripping off their forms. The woman who had ogled him earlier (to be fair, most did) leaned forward. 

“Mr Lee, how good of you to join us.”

He threw her a cheeky grin, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world as you well know.”

She clapped her hands together excitedly, “Oh, that’s right! Dr L/N, this is the man who personally advocated to bring your treasure in. It was all he would discuss in our meetings and truth be told, if I hadn’t heard your presentation today, I would have said he probably knew more about it! This is Mr Lee Minho.”

The Mr in question maintained eye contact with you throughout her spiel. It felt like a challenge and you weren’t about to lose. He was severe, obviously stubborn and waited for you to greet him first. You smiled sweetly and coyly replied with, “We’ve met. He was ever so accommodating when I found myself lost.”

He took a swig of his champagne, jaw ticking. You were starting to enjoy this gala. A man spoke up and introduced himself as Mr Cho Daniel. He started in on some questions while the others listened attentively. He wasn’t half bad-looking, black hair and a winning smile but it didn’t seem to quite reach his eyes and that, in itself, unsettled you.

“Dr L/N, what brought you to Cairo? I mean, I know the collection is impressive but isn’t it so incredibly dangerous for a single woman like yourself?”  He leaned forward and his gaze focused downwards for a split second. Yup, don’t like this guy. 

You raised your chin. “When one is passionate about something - to the point of excess -  that won’t stop you. Ancient magic has always been in the back of my mind, since I was a kid. The fact that humans could come up with such ideas, such incredible places of worship, customs, death rites and gods. It was inconceivable to me and to be honest, my curiosity to understand their minds is what drove me forward. No offense, but don’t you feel a sense of resigned acceptance, banality in your daily routines? Where is the fire that had spurred these people on? So I had to follow my path. But don’t worry, I learned some tricks along the way. I worked in Iran before this and held my own by learning some Western Persian and a little self-defense. Now I get by with elementary Arabic and a pushy attitude. Simply put, foreign customs and sexism will not deter me.”

As Minho watched you, he got angry at himself for the grudging respect he was feeling. You had the same outlook in life and it pissed him off to a momentous degree. He had to nip this in the bud but as he knew he would be working closely with you for the next few weeks (due to being the sole reason for the arrival of the artifact) he would need to get into your good books. He also hated the way Cho was staring at you, not listening to a word you were saying. The guy was a notorious creep and Minho couldn’t help moving closer to you as subtly as he could. 

Your eyes flickered to him and you felt your neck heat up. You stared at your empty glass accusingly and excused yourself to find the bathroom.

🐍 

As you made your way through a corridor, a deep voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Ms, if I could have a word?”

It's Doctor, you asshole. You paused and slowly turned around. Minho approached you carefully and when he was close enough he stilled, not saying anything. You couldn’t read his expression and felt yourself getting angrier by the second. You raised your eyebrow. He cleared his throat.

“Right, well. I’ve come to apologise. I realise we may have started on the wrong foot - although you can hardly blame me - but we will be working together from now on and I really don’t need any more antagonism. I suppose I can teach you some manners and then that will make it easier.”

As he went on, your mouth had fallen open of its own accord. You actually couldn’t believe the gall of this man. You’d had enough. 

He looked at you with an expectant expression. Did he really think that was an apology? 

“Go fuck yourself, Mr Lee.”

As you turned around, a firm hand gripped your upper arm and spun you back. He was closer than ever, staring down at you with stormy eyes. He continued to scrutinise you silently and when his eyes ran down your form you felt a traitorous trickle of something low in your belly. It seemed to last an age but finally he let go, walking backwards for a couple of steps, a faint smirk on his face, before turning and striding away. 

The next morning, you were late. Hardly surprising, really. In Cairo, the sun always woke you up and you had time to enjoy a coffee on your balcony. This was not the case in Seoul and you lamented the lack of sustenance as you almost tripped over your Mary Janes whilst running into the conference room to meet the staff formally. Shit. The whole space was filled, people quiet and listening. They turned their heads collectively in your direction, causing you to self-consciously smooth your short skirt before finding a seat. There was one smile in the room and she happened to have an empty spot next to her - you gratefully sank in and she leaned towards you.

“I’m Rachel and I’ll be your assistant.”

You smiled and shook her hand. She noticed you staring at her coffee like a long-lost sibling and chuckled, signalling to someone. When you had your first gulp, you took in your surroundings. These people looked professional. Most were much older than you and Rachel and their outfits were crisp. You subtly tried to remove a stubborn crease on your white chiffon blouse, to no avail. Rachel hid a smile behind her fist and you took her in - she looked to be mid-twenties with sleek hair and elf-like features. She seemed to have a permanent smile on her face and you found yourself quite excited to work with her. A throat cleared near you and when you turned towards the sound your sight was assaulted by Mr Lee sitting diagonally from you. He had a brow lifted and you scowled back, not realising that everyone was staring at you. 

“Ms L/N, we are waiting for you.” You could hear the smugness in his tone and tried your best not to chuck your mug at his head. But, suddenly his words hit you. You whipped around and noticed the speaker had stopped…speaking. He repeated himself for your benefit and you smiled sheepishly, introducing yourself briefly.

“So, Dr L/n here, will be training the floor staff in introducing the book to customers for the next few days. She will also walk us through the set up and preservation of the artifact. I hope you’ll all make her feel welcome and that when she leaves, she’ll be comfortable in the knowledge that our staff is well-trained.”

People politely smiled and tipped their heads in your direction. All except one, of course. 

🐍

After the meeting, you found yourself in a small room having a silent staring competition with around eight staff members. Rachel sent you an enthusiastic thumbs-up and you bolstered yourself, stepping forward slightly. 

“Good morning, I hope we can work well together. If you have suggestions on how to improve our team or any queries, you are more than welcome to approach me. I’m so excited to share this with you.”

You cringed inwardly but relaxed slightly when genuine smiles graced their faces. You started handing out guides on the artifact, letting them get a general feel for the content. As you were waiting, you noticed the man of your nightmares slip into the room. He was wearing black pressed trousers and a white Oxford shirt. His hair was styled to perfection and his arms bulged where his sleeves were rolled up. He had the most pompous watch on his wrist again. One does not need a freaking time-turning device. You marched over, not noticing his eyes dip briefly, and pasted a fake smile onto your face.

“Mr Lee, just checking in?”

His lips twitched. “No, I’m on this project. Getting a feel of the process, if you will.” Perfect.

You struggled to keep your face pleasant and thrust the guide into his hand. 

“Great, then try to keep up. If you need further guidance, don’t hesitate to ask my assistant.” Poor Rachel.

You took a deep breath and started, walking back to the front as you did so. You put the first few symbols on the projector while the staff followed along with the guides.

“Who knows how to read hieroglyphs?” Only around half raised their hands and the others shifted nervously. You smiled at them in reassurance. “That’s okay! It’s what I’m here for. As you can see,” You gestured to the slides, “Hieroglyphs can be read from the left or the right. The way to determine the direction is to look for a face and read towards it. The Book of the Dead of Imhotep reads from the right as you can see here. The bird is looking to the right so we start there.” You then pointed to two symbols stacked on top of each other and continued. “If they look like that, it needs to be read from top to bottom. This was done to conserve space.”

You heard a shuffle and looked up to find that the asshole had carelessly chucked the guide to the table next to him, scoffing in amusement. Gritting your teeth, you soldiered on. “No vowels here, only consonants and some are sounds. Much like cyrillic. Generally we just use ‘e’ as the vowel. To make matters a little more confusing, sometimes the objects are actually pictures instead of sounds/letters. I have included the most important sounds and ideograms for this specific document in the guide so all you need to do is memorise that before you start learning the next step of the priest’s story. It’s fairly straightforward as I was told you know the general workings of an Egyptian journey to the afterlife. It includes a list of spells and the ceremonial weighing of the heart before being taken to the Field of Reeds. We can start studying the text together when I put the copies of the book on the screen.”

You gave yourself a mental pat on the back as you took in the enthusiasm of your team. They were eager to learn and you were swelling with pride. Until you noticed the bastard, however. You saw his back as he left the room. Fury rippling through you, you made a quick excuse, allowing the others to study the guide as you bolted after the man. 

“Excuse me!”

He turned around nonchalantly, something flickering in his eyes.

“Yes?”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“To my office?”

“I thought you wanted to be part of the process.”

“I do.”

You gaped at his faux confused expression. 

“So? That means you need to learn the process! You can’t go around acting like you’re better than the people in there whilst learning nothing!”

You noticed his hand clenching before smoothing out as he moved towards you. He bent down patronisingly and you took an involuntary step back.

“I am way past the rudimentary stage of reading hieroglyphs, Ms L/n, on account of studying the text myself in its rightful place. I can even point out the details that you, yourself, have missed. When you get to the challenging bit, which I assume will take some time, I will be there.”

When he noticed your mouth gaping at him, he nodded to himself and stalked off, leaving you in a dark corridor again.

🐍

Fuck this insufferable woman. Fuck her.

Minho slammed his door shut and leaned heavily against it, chest heaving. What was it about this woman that drove him to the edge? He thought he could handle being in the same room as you and, for a while, things went well. Until he started to get swept up in your voice, the authoritative yet soothing tone creeping down his spine. The way you delved into a subject that had fascinated him for years resonated deep inside his gut and those legs! He thought back to the numerous pairs of legs he’d seen from different angles and wondered what made yours so special. The thought struck him - perhaps it was the enticing concoction of the legs and the brains. The brains that hated him through no fault of his own, mind you. But he had a solution - he was going to find another combination of legs and brains thus putting this catastrophe to bed. Well, specifically not to bed. He texted his best mate. 

🐍

“Oh Minho, you are too funny!”

The giggles grated his eardrums and he struggled to maintain a (normal) smile while the gorgeous specimen clung onto his arm. It had been no chase in the slightest. He and Chan had sauntered over to the bar and within five seconds a beautifully svelte creature had placed her sleek red nails on his bicep. He flexed helpfully. He checked to make sure that she had shapely calves and sure enough, she did. Phase one - complete. Next, to check for brains. 

“So what do you do, sweetheart?”

“I take supplements everyday, do fifty squats and then create content for my followers.”

Sigh. A damn shame really - never in his life did he have to reject a woman who did squats. Nevertheless, he let her gently go and waited for the next one. Chan widened his eyes in disbelief to which Minho merely shrugged and straightened his jacket. Sure enough, a lovely brunette sidled up, a devilish gleam in her eye. Interesting. He glanced her over, phase one most definitely complete. 

“What do you do, sweetheart?”

“I’m a lawyer.”

Minho’s eyebrows raised at that - could he dare to dream? They fell into an easy chatter, drinks flowing, but when she slid closer his brain hiccoughed. He squinted, taking her features in. Similar but the eyes weren’t right - there was no furrow to her brow, no semblance of anger or disgust. Why did that unsettle him? He tried to brush it off, continuing to pick her brain, sliding his arm around her waist, but when she leaned in he froze. Why was she trying to kiss him? She wasn’t supposed to want to do that. As her lips touched his, he groaned and realised the issue. She, quite simply, wasn’t you. Fuck that woman! 

“I’m sorry, love, but this isn’t going to work. Allergies, you see.”

She flounced off in a huff leaving him to endure the wrath of his friend. He felt himself enveloped in Chan’s arms and struggled to push him off.

“What the fuck? Get off me!”

“Sssh, it’s okay. You’ve finally lost it and I’m here for you. Next up, we book you into a wellness retreat.”

Minho simply slumped in his embrace, vowing to get over his fixation before you left.  

You were getting better at ignoring each other. When his looming frame entered your vision, you would stare straight ahead and stride past him. It seemed to work most of the time as he was never in your sessions due to it not being ‘challenging’ enough. You tried to suppress your respect when it came to the man. You had the initial impression of him as being a spoilt freeloader who threw money at anything that looked pretty. Quite the opposite was true as your colleagues told you about his passion for the museum and its contents. The way he flew all the way to Egypt to study something he was interested in. He took some courses on the topic, learnt ancient languages and inserted himself where he could. They sang his praises and, at first, you thought they had been paid off but you started to notice the little things - how he always lent a helping hand to those he came across, the way he could carry an informed conversation with the curator, even the way he smiled at visitors. It was unnerving. But, even though these attributes tried their best to sway you, he would always dunk you back in freezing waters. It was how he looked at you, the way he wouldn’t try to hide his displeasure at being in your vicinity. His gorgeous eyes (damn him) would narrow into slits, his back would stiffen and he would look you up and down as if you were dressed in rags. You thought you looked quite nice - skirts, professional blouses - hell, you had caught people looking at you appreciatively but you felt terribly self conscious in his presence.  

In fact, he was staring at you like that now when the man you met at the gala, Daniel, greeted you, pressing a coffee into your hand. This was the second time in the span of a few days that he had come to chat with you. You had been wary at first, as he didn’t leave the best first impression, but you soon felt you might have misjudged him as he had been perfectly cordial and friendly towards you since then. You tried to stay engaged in the conversation but he was making it very difficult as he was positively shooting you daggers just behind Daniel. You shifted uncomfortably on your feet - why was he so hellbent on targeting you? And why did it make you heat up on the inside? You found him attractive, yes, but surely that wasn’t enough to deter you from entertaining other men? Daniel was attractive too so why couldn’t you stop glancing at Minho? As if he could read your thoughts, the bastard in question sported a smirk on his face and you quickly shook your head, trying to come back to reality. God, you hated this man.

“No?”

You looked at the man opposite you. “Sorry, what?”

Daniel scratched the back of his neck, face unreadable, “I was asking if you would want to actually go out for a coffee sometime..”

Your eyes widened and you struggled to think of what to say. It was a little awkward being scrutinised from the side but you realised that this might be exactly what you need. You were thirsty, you hadn’t been out with anyone in a long time so that must be the reason for the incomprehensible pull you were feeling towards him. Planting a confident smile on your face, you replied with, “I’d love to.” 

As you walked away, you thought you noticed Minho looking even more vexed than before - if that were even possible. 

🐍

Minho watched as Daniel turned around and looked him straight in the eye. His brow lifted in question while a self-satisfied grin appeared. He wanted to wipe that off his face.

“What?” 

“You know what, Cho.”

Daniel slithered forward, “I am merely taking a guest colleague out for a tour around the city. If she happens to be into me then that’s just a bonus.”

Minho shook his head in disgust as he watched him saunter away, blood boiling. There was no way in hell that he would let that happen. Feelings aside, Daniel was a predator. He had a reputation for getting the woman into bed on the first date and then ghosting. The issue here wasn’t so much the sex, it was the way he enjoyed it. Minho had seen bruises on some of his dates (new colleagues of theirs) and heard about his fascination with certain drugs to enhance the experience. He tried to get to the bottom of it but the women could never fully say that they didn’t consent to it. As much as he disliked you, he wouldn’t let that happen. 

A couple days later you gather the group for the next lesson. They had been working diligently on learning hieroglyphic texts and how to preserve the particular specimen. Things were about to get even more challenging but you were sure they could handle it. 

“Good morning! I want to applaud your effort these last few days - you have advanced at a fantastic pace and today you’re going to go even further.”

They started murmuring in curiosity as Rachel handed out the guides. Some of their faces paled when they read the title: Hieratic Script.

“Okay I know this sounds daunting but once you get a hang of the patterns you’ll be fine!”

You started playing with your rings nervously as you noticed how some were grumbling. You couldn’t understand them but knew resentment when you saw it. All right, so not everyone is into it. Just keep your head up and continue.

“So, as you can see Hieratic uses a type of cursive writing and -”

“Why do we need to learn this?”

You looked at the older man who had spoken in bewilderment.

“Sorry?”

“Why do we need to go into so much depth for one artifact that people will not even study for so long? Learning hieroglyphs was fun and useful but this is too complicated. We don’t have the time for it and I don’t see the point in knowing it.”

Some of the others whispered in agreement and you felt your anxiety spiking. Weren’t you here for this very purpose? To teach them in order to further their knowledge and career? You specialised in ancient languages and this was your project. You needed to calm down but the hurt at his blasé attitude was creeping in. As you were trying to come up with a respectful retort, another voice cut in. It was low and confident.

“You need to learn this as it is important for the future of this museum. Do you not want international historians to use us for their studies? What about university students? As it stands, the numbers are dwindling and providing courses like this could really benefit everyone in this room. Besides, this expert has left her home and flown all the way to a foreign country, by herself, in order to share her career with you. The least you could do is show respect and work with her. Also, stop talking about her in Korean. She is more experienced than any of you and I will have you reported.”

He was breathing a little harder at this point and you felt your mouth open in shock. He raked his hand through his hair and nodded at you with a tightened jaw before returning to the back. You had no idea he was here and you also had no idea why you were currently so aroused. You had to stop yourself from squeezing your thighs together as this was highly inappropriate and caught the eye of Rachel who winked at you with a disbelieving grin. Fuck my life. You straightened up and shot him a small smile before starting your course.

“Okay so. While hieroglyphics can be read from either side, hieratic script can only be read from right to left.The Egyptians adopted this style for efficiency. It was more convenient and ink on papyrus was the common method. Most religious texts were written in this way and that is why more than half of our book consists of this.”

You noticed Minho nodding along and listening intently. Guess the challenging part has finally come to fruition. Your anxiety dissipated at his support as everyone cooperated. It pissed you off to no end that they were complying to him rather than you but you would take it. Overall, it was a good lesson and you were more than satisfied at the end. They had a long way to go but it was mostly self-study now. As soon as you were done, you shot out of there - the awareness he instilled in you was so disconcerting that you were convinced you would melt into a puddle if you remained in the same room any longer. You felt a heated gaze on your back as you moved past. 

🐍

Things were winding down for the evening as you made your way down the corridor. You were exhausted and needed to soak in a hot bath. As you rounded the corner you came face to face with Daniel who looked like he had been waiting for something.

“Y/n! Good to see you. Hey, what are you doing right now? Fancy getting that glass of wine?”

Something about his demeanor was a bit too cloying for your taste and you were really not in the mood. Besides, when did you agree to a drink in the evening? You pasted a smile onto your face.

“Uhh, I agreed to a coffee during the daytime. So we’ll just stick to that, yeah?” You made to move past him but he blocked the way.

“I mean, we can still grab a coffee, can we not? We didn’t specify a time.”

You started to consider it but felt someone come up behind you.

“She has dinner plans.”

What? Daniel sneered at Minho in response.

“With you?”

“Yes. Let’s go, Dr.” 

You realised he had finally called you by your appropriate title and decided to blindly follow him as you heard Daniel say he would make a plan soon. When you were outside, he nodded at you and made to walk away.

“Wait-”

He turned around, face closed off.

“Why did you do that? Why did you make my choice for me?”

“Trust me, you’ll thank me later. Make sure to stay away from him.”

You felt anger rising, “I don’t think I can use the Rosetta Stone to decipher your response so you’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

His chest rose as he glared at you, slowly moving closer. “Again, trust me when I say you should avoid the prick. He’s… not a good guy.”

Something in his words made you truly believe that he was not just messing you around to piss you off so you nodded. He turned to walk away but you remembered something.

“Wait,” he looked annoyed now, “I forgot to thank you for what you did in the lesson. I’m still unsure and you helped a lot.”

His features softened slightly and he hesitated before murmuring, “You don’t need to thank me, you deserve the respect - but you’re welcome.” You smiled at him and parted ways, grabbing your taxi. You were definitely not going to think about him in that hot bath.

It was the first day of the exhibition and you were nervous as hell. Sure, you wouldn’t be doing the tours but you needed it to go well. You paced around and smiled at the patrons awkwardly. You dressed for the occasion - hair up, skirt, heels - but you still felt out of place. You were watching the guides work their magic. You didn’t understand the talk but they seemed to be engaging the group as they bent over the display case. Fingers touched the glass and you tried to hold in your squeak of indignation. Before you could march over there, you felt a strong hand push a cup into your hands.

“Here. Drink this - green tea for your nerves.”

You looked up at the not-so-much-an-asshole-anymore and smiled in gratitude. He kept his stare forward but did not look antagonised. Your gaze swept over him and sighed inwardly. You tried so hard to look good, why was life unfair? He looked effortlessly handsome, clear skin shining, plush lips pursed in concentration and suit pristine. The shirt was just tight enough to show off his prominent shoulders. But wait… as you looked up at his eyes again, you saw he had been doing the exact same thing to your body and it was no longer in derision. It looked like admiration. You both whipped your heads back to the scene before you, subtle blushes creeping over your skin. He made sure that you were drinking your tea before he nodded and walked away. You shook your head in amazement - what had just happened? How did the two of you become (moderately) friendly in the space of two weeks? He stood up for you, helped you with Daniel and brought you tea. Baby steps but you no longer wanted to tear his hair out. He felt like a teammate. A teammate I would shag. No! Despite his change of heart, it was not enough to indicate that he was into you too. You tried to stay focused. Turning around, you found Rachel grinning at you with a raised eyebrow. Not again.

“Getting cosy with the ‘asshole’?”

“No! He just saw me freaking out, is all.”

“Y/n, that is not all. I saw the way you were staring at each other. It’s been going on for quite a while but nowhere near as blatant as today. I say, go for it. As far as I know, he’s single and a man like that should not go to waste. Have some fun while you’re here!”

You really liked her but you couldn’t open your mind to this possibility. You wouldn’t mind having fun but not with him. For some reason, you felt like that would be crossing a boundary. That it wouldn’t be just fun and you weren’t sure you could handle that.

“Let me know if you know of any single, casual flings around.” You walked off before she could protest.

🐍

Minho had to, once again, escape your presence. It was just tea. Just goddamned tea and he only made you some because you looked ready to strangle the children running around. You didn’t have to send him that fucking smile! The way it lit up your face was so unsteadying that he found himself looking down only to be met by your stunning curves in that skirt. The heels weren’t helping him either. He couldn’t pull himself away - your body was like a magnet and the only way his eyes could move was up or down. As he raked his gaze up, he noticed your cinched in waist and, heaven smite him, your full breasts straining against the blouse. He was drawn in by the curve of your bare neck - what it would feel like to place his lips there. Very softly. He wanted to undo your hair and curl his fingers into it harshly, pull you up against him and…

For god’s sake! 

Now was not the time. Ever was not the time. But especially now as he was surrounded by people. He would probably be escorted off the premises if anyone stared at him hard enough. So he escaped to the bathroom where he could adjust himself. He really needed to get home because if he had to smell your shampoo again he would flip and probably do something very destructive. Like pin you up against the wall or hoist you up onto that display case or…

Fuck! Focus!

He checked the time and deemed it late enough to make an honorable exit. He walked swiftly to his office seeing a new group around the book. A begrudging smile lifted his features. It really was a success - his desire as he first laid eyes upon it in Cairo had come true. People were engaging, asking questions and staring at it in wonder. The guides were perfect as well, sharing mini tips on symbols and features of the hieratic. The woman had done it and she had done it well. He would never admit it but he had learned so much in her last couple sessions - he had tried to teach himself hieratic in the past but she had managed to solve some issues with just a few tips that never crossed his mind. If he could just look at her without leering he would be sure to mention that she should be proud of herself. Speak of the devil. No, I’m not ready!

He watched as you walked towards him with a small smile, no less lovely, on your face but he couldn’t handle it. He glared at you without fully realising and closed off his body language. He watched, heart sinking, as your face contorted into a confused grimace and you lowered your head, blinking rapidly. You hurried past him quickly and his steps faltered before smoothly continuing. This was for the best. Sure, on occasion he dallied with women but somehow, with you, it seemed different. He didn’t know how to feel around you and this was all temporary. Yes, this was for the best.

The next evening you were in the storeroom, gathering your things together. It was late but you absolutely needed to clean the display case with a loving intensity and, in a manner of speaking, coo at your baby. It certainly wasn’t healthy, you knew this, and you also knew you needed a new hobby or someone to care for. It had been pretty lonely up until now. Your travels and survival skills had made you very independent but you often caught yourself obsessing over your latest project while the rest of the world passed you by. Perhaps when you got back you would venture out more, meet new people, integrate into a group and finally have some good sex. Just a thought.

As you turned around to pick up your bag, you heard a throat clearing by the door. It was Daniel. You knew what was coming so you straightened up and got ready to decline his invitation once again.

“Hey, Y/n”

“Daniel! What a surprise, I was just leaving.”

“Perfect, I was hoping to go for a drink and chat about what a success your exhibition has been. The people are loving it and it is arranged…quite well.”

Yeah, okay, this guy has no idea what he’s talking about. Not surprised. 

“Sounds good but not today, I’m afraid, it’s been a long week with all this happening. I’ll let you know when I’m free!”

You made to move past him but the bastard couldn’t take a hint, moving into the room and, subsequently, closer to you. 

“Let me take the stress off, I know a great steak place around the corner with the best wine. On me.”

His eyes glimmered and you froze, breathing sharply. What was happening? Why was he boxing you in? And why was this making you panic? You had a permanent job in one of the most dangerous countries in the world for christ’s sake! But this had never happened to you before… You tried to look past him to the door but the hallway was empty - you should have left earlier. 

“You have such beautiful hair, how soft is it?”

You flinched as he ran a hand through it and you tried to make yourself look smaller, he cupped your cheek and tried for a soothing manner.

“One drink. You’re safe with me, I just want to show you what my city has to offer!” 

You tried to push past him but an arm snaked around your waist.

“What is the matter with you? I know you western girls have a more liberal attitude and I’m the perfect choice for a night.”

As he leaned in even more, you heard footsteps moving closer. Oh thank god…

🐍

Minho had stayed longer than usual. He was handling some international calls and was lowkey trying to avoid running into you. As he left his office, shoes clicking and coat swishing, he noticed the light casting from your makeshift office. Groaning, he tried to hasten his steps so that you wouldn’t catch him but stilled when he heard a deeper voice. He couldn’t make it out but he recognised a hint of nerves in your replies. He walked forward quietly and when he realised who it was he snapped. He strode in and surveyed the scene. If it was consensual then this was very inappropriate - but it didn’t look like it. You were completely encircled by his arms and your head was down, seeming to be in fear. Cho was stroking your face and Minho saw red. He grabbed him by the neck and pulled him off you, face thunderous. When he was angry, he was dangerous. He never shouted or flaunted his ‘alpha male energy’. Instead, his voice was deadly calm and to the point. It slithered over your skin and seeped into your pores like poison. But oh, how he wanted to break this guy’s face right now.

“You never learn, do you?”

Cho tried to get out of his grip to no avail.

“What do you mean? We were just about to go for dinner!”

“The fuck you were. Leave. Now. And expect a call in the morning.”

He let Cho go who straightened up, face twisted into an ugly scowl.

“My, you really are a jealous bastard, aren’t you? Threatening to get me fired because she prefers my dick.”

Minho heard a whimper from behind him and swiftly pulled him close again, “Get the fuck out of here now before I do something I won’t regret. You’re done terrorising women.” He pushed him forcefully out the door and waited until he was sure he’d left. He pulled out his phone and dialed the man in charge, relaying the events. When he was sure it would be handled he turned around, finally taking you in. You were sagged against the wall, staring at the floor. He slowly moved towards you, careful to stay at a respectful distance.

🐍

“Are you all right?”

You realised it was over and the adrenaline left you, causing you to slide down the wall. You felt strong hands gripping your arms gently and looked up, staring into molten eyes. 

“Just, let me, please.”

He released you and joined you on the floor, waiting for you to say something.

“Thank you.” Man, you were embarrassed. How many times would he have to bail you out of stressful situations? The guy didn’t even like you!

He hummed in response, eyes never leaving your face. You made to stand up but he stopped you.

“Have you eaten?”

You looked at him in surprise. How much worse could this get?

You managed to stand up and grab your bag. You felt him behind you.

“Don’t,” you muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“Just, don’t. I don’t need your pity. I know you hate me and I’m going to cry if you keep this up.”

“What, I don’t hate you. Did Cho tell you that?”

You whirled around, fury coursing through you.

“What the fuck do you mean you don’t hate me? You glare at me, talk down to me, avoid me and criticise my clothing. I hate the look in your eyes when you see me…” Your face flushed in shame as your voice broke at the end of the sentence. You were giving away too much. You looked up and confirmed this as you noticed his jaw clenching.

“See? Like that.”

“I don’t hate you at all. You’re right about the way I treat you, I admit, but I’m doing it for the benefit of the both of us. Look, you don’t need this right now. Can I please order some food? I’m starving and I’m not leaving you alone.”

You stared at him numbly until he cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry for how I’ve been acting. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Your eyes started to water and, all of a sudden, you felt strong arms around you and a warm chest as you cried into it. You made a note to kick yourself later but it felt too good to resist. After a couple of minutes you lifted your head and he softly wiped at your cheeks with an unreadable expression on his face. 

“Will you eat with me?”

You nodded your head and waited while he ordered.

🐍

Minho fetched the food and when he returned, he saw you sitting on the ground again. For some reason, you preferred it. He took off his jacket.

“Here.” 

He made you move so that he could slide it under you. He sat next to you, still maintaining a distance, and opened the food containers. He made sure to keep his face open and friendly in order to make you feel safe but, if he were honest, he had never felt so frazzled in his life. He wanted to do a myriad of things - take an angry shower (brilliant for the soul), kill Cho and hold you. In no particular order. When he made sure that you were eating, he joined in. You ate in amiable silence for the most part until you didn’t.

“When?”

He furrowed his brows in confusion, “When what?”

“When did you come to Cairo to study my precio - the book?”

He hid a smile at your Freudian slip.

“It was about a year ago. I know the curator well, having been to Egypt a number of times and he knows all about my fascination with the afterlife. He called me as soon as it came in.”

“I didn’t see you.”

“I didn’t see you either.”

“Would it have changed anything if we’d met before?”

He looked down and hesitated to answer, this was unchartered waters.

“I don’t know,” he replied quietly.

You hummed and continued to eat.

“Why?”

Now it was your turn to appear confused.

“Why what?”

“Why do you keep moving?”

You thought about it for a second before replying. His eyes flickered to your lips and hung on when you started to speak.

“It started off as a way to escape my loneliness, keep busy, but then I fell in love with the lifestyle. Although, now I’m not sure it’s worth it anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m still lonely. For instance, right now, I’m still trying to figure out who to call in order to be comforted but I can’t think of anyone. It’s pathetic. I meet so many people but I never stay long enough to maintain meaningful relationships.”

His heart clenched, how could this brilliant woman not be loved? He related to it but he had an excuse - he was a cold bastard on the inside. What was yours? 

“It’s not pathetic. Believe me, it’s not. I know exactly how you feel. Although, I have three beings who love me.”

Your heart raced as you looked at him for clarification - did he have someone? Was he not single? He noticed your stare and chuckled. 

“My cats. They’re quite protective of me, you know.”

You grinned and wondered at your relief. Your next words sent him into laughter (though you didn’t know why it was funny). 

“You sure they’re not just trying to smother you in your sleep?”

You nudged him and he nudged you back, slightly harder to showcase his strength, of course. How were you able to be so in tune and yet not understand what he felt for you? He recognised and accepted it now but it was not the time. It would probably never be the time. But as he watched you giggle at some of the things he said, he realised he was fucked.

🐍

As you both made to leave, he stayed close and you felt a firm hand on your lower back while he led you to the doors of the museum. The heat pulsed through your shirt and, instead of moving away, you embraced it. You felt safe. He took your number and made sure you were back at the hotel. You smiled at his message.

Let me know if you need anything - a shoulder, a punching bag, a coffee, anything. I’m here.

Despite the detente, not much had changed between you at work. Yes, the malice had softened but Minho still found you annoying and you still found him a prat. You still fought like cats and dogs with the staff watching with widened eyes or leaving the room. In fact, now, for some reason, it had escalated. There was a fire in your eyes and an aggressive attitude thrown around but you welcomed it. Relished it even. You always came away with a chest heaving and face flushed - panties wet too but you tried not to think about that too much. As soon as his eyes darkened and his mouth opened, you knew you were in for it. And you gave as good as you got.

“What can’t you understand about our dress code?!”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing!”

“It’s trousers for one! As a female employee, you should be in skirts! What happened to the one you were wearing on the first day? It was perfectly adequate!”

“You’re full of shit because that’s so archaic! If you have such a problem then YOU wear it! Sure it would go lovely with your toned calves!”

You realised you had just complimented him and he had thought your skirt was merely “adequate”. Your eyes narrowed as he smirked and you stormed off, determined to burn all the skirts you had brought with you - especially the black one.

Minho hoped you would wear that sexy little black skirt again. He was positively furious when he came to work and realised he couldn’t admire your legs while sipping his morning coffee. What was the point of even being there? He was elated, however, at the fact that you were also checking him out and vowed to wear his most fitted trousers from now on so that you could admire his other asset from behind. He chuckled as he walked off, his morning exercise complete.

🐍

It had been a few days and the tension steadily growing between you had now reached the point where it clogged your synapses. You couldn’t think straight and fumbled many requests, earning confused glances from people. It wasn’t your fault. At all. The bastard had been teasing you relentlessly with his smirks, his molten eyes and his touches. When he escorted you to the car (he still did that if he was in the building) that damned hand would rest on your lower back. When he moved past you in a room he would lightly place his hands on your waist. When he innocently asked you a question he would come up right behind you in the storeroom. You hated it. You loved it. You returned it. You would casually suck on the end of your pen in front of him, enjoying the way his eyes flickered. You’d wear your tightest blouse, a little cleavage bared and push past him lightly. You’d never acted this way before, judging women who did, but now you could see what all the fuss was about. It made him ravenous. You’d look up, seeing him drinking you in - absolutely devouring you in his frustration. There was only one way this could go. 

And go, it did. You had approximately a week left when a group of you were in the storeroom, sorting out the files. Minho stepped in with an unreadable expression on his face. Here we go again.

“You didn’t do as I asked.”

You racked your brain but couldn’t understand his anger.

“I’m wearing the skirt, aren’t I?”

“This isn’t about the bloody skirt. I explicitly told you to wait before taking our data analysis to Dr Son!”

You realised he was pissed at not being included, as he had helped, but this was ridiculous.

“I didn’t have time to wait! I don’t have time! I leave in a week!”

The other people followed the usual protocol, leaving the room and shutting the door quietly.

“You always do this! Never listening to me, doing what you want. And you’re so fucking self-righteous when someone calls you out.”

He had stalked closer to you, slowly rounding the table you were standing behind. You had never seen him so angry before - was it really because of this or was there something else bothering him?

“Not my problem if you leave early, job too boring for you? Need some time to relax?”

“You are so used to working alone, not considering others. Maybe that’s why you don’t make any friends. Maybe it’s your fault.”

You jerked back at how carelessly he threw your greatest insecurity at you. You were seething to the point that you couldn’t feel the cupboard at your back. He had moved to stand right in front of you, waiting for your response.

“Fuck you, Mr Lee.”

He snarled and closed the gap between you, roughly pushing you even further into the cupboard. You gripped his arms to stay upright and he took that as a sign to smash his lips to yours. You started to push him away but then realised you didn’t want to. His lips were so soft and his hands were so violent, kneading into your waist with a vengeance. His fingers moved up to grip your hair and you moaned into his mouth. You bit into his lower lip and he hissed, gripping you even harder. He moved down and bit into your neck. Hard. You keened at the sharp jolt of pain, hips jerking forward.

“What the fuck are your doing?!”

He whispered harshly into your ear.

“You deserve it.”

You shook your head despite grinding down onto his thigh which had firmly pinned you in place. He grinned.

“You know you do. Tell me you deserve it.”

His hand had moved to stroke your nipple through your shirt and you sighed, only to yelp when that very hand suddenly cupped your cunt through your skirt.

“Admit it. Admit you deserve this treatment because of the way you’ve been behaving.”

Your brain fogged as he started rubbing slow circles over your panties. You needed this, you needed him. But the fucking bastard knew this and stopped his ministrations. You found yourself pathetically canting your hips forward again, rubbing your clit on his palm.He removed his hand and kept you in place by your neck. Fuck this guy.

“I deserve it,” you whispered in defeat. Fine, I’m a desperate slut for this man.

“Good girl. Now let’s see how wet you are.”

You knew you were at work and, despite it being late, you also knew there was a small chance of someone walking in. But you didn’t care. You just didn’t fucking care.

He pushed your panties to the side and dipped a finger in.

“God fucking damnit. The things you do to me…”

He panted next to your ear as he added another finger, fucking you with it. He swallowed your loud cries and you were helpless to take it. You felt the burn building in your belly and started to shake.

“That’s it. I knew you’d love this. Now, before you come, are you going to disrespect me like this again?”

You stubbornly glared back at him and he quickened his pace even more, pushing you to the edge.

“I’m waiting.”

You were on the brink of exploding and just as your eyes teared up, you shook your head. He sighed in satisfaction and bit your ear lobe, causing you to tumble. Your mouth fell open, little cries spilling from it. As you came down, he kissed his way to where your neck ached and soothed it with his tongue.

“There you go. Glad we agree on something.”

He sucked on his fingers and then pulled back slightly, eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you okay? Was I too rough?”

You scoffed and then offered him a smirk. He chuckled and gently tucked your hair behind your ear.

“Can I take you to dinner?”

“Okay.”

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Now that Minho had tasted you, he really dreaded your impending departure. He wasn’t ready to let you go - he felt a modicum of shame after what had happened, though. He felt betrayed when you didn’t include him in the meeting but he knew it was more than that. He didn’t want you to go and it was making him panic. He had never lost it with anyone that way before but you seemed to be into it which just made him despair even more - he would just have to enjoy it while it lasted. Luckily, you didn’t pretend it never happened - you sent him secret smiles and touched his hand when you were near. He took his chance and kissed you softly when no one was around. It was not enough. It was everything. 

On the last day, the staff threw a party - Minho had made sure of this. He watched with affection as you were embraced by everyone, a crack fissuring his heart. He didn’t realise that many of the members were studying him, knowing how he felt. It was pretty obvious. Rachel sidled up to him.

“You okay there, Lee?”

He didn’t even bother asking her to clarify.

“No.”

“You know, she’s single.”

“Well, I’d bloody hope so!” He looked at her incredulously and she let out a satisfied laugh.

“I knew it. Well, what I’m trying to say is - what’s stopping you?”

“You do know she’ll be thousands of miles away, right?”

She shrugged and walked off, leaving him with narrowed eyes and a mind racing with possibilities. There was something he had been considering but it wouldn’t be a good idea - would it?

“You want to come over for a drink?”

He whipped his head around and was met with your shy smile - he wanted to melt.

“I’ve got a better idea, why not come to mine?”

Your eyes widened adorably and you nodded. You both stole away and he led you to his car, hand on your back as per usual. 

When you entered his apartment you gasped - it was gorgeous. All dark colours and modern furnishings. Well, all modern except for the artwork. And figurines. And tapestries. He was clearly obsessed with your topic and here was the proof. You asked if a painting of the mourning Egyptian women was just a copy (to make sure) and he simply smiled in response. What the actual fuck. 

You didn’t question it - not wanting to know - and continued browsing. As you studied the jars on the shelves, you came face to face with glinting eyes. Very real eyes. You jumped back and then laughed as you realised you had just met one of his cats.

“That’s Soonie. He gets quite jealous of the other decorations - needs to shine the most, you see.”

You smiled and held out a hand, letting the cat bump its head gently against it. 

“Where are the other two?”

“Dori and Doongie tend to play hide and seek for the first couple hours after I’ve returned. They’ve been especially mad at my working hours lately.”

You realised his voice was closer than before, right behind you to be exact. His hands glided up your arms and he pushed your hair off your shoulders, laying soft kisses along your nape.

You let out a breath, “What happened to that drink?”

“Do you want one?”

“No.”

“Good.”

🐍

Minho marvelled at your naked form on his bed - he couldn’t believe his luck. Your curves were even more spectacular up close and he ripped his shirt off quickly. He saw your eyes drinking him in (understandable, of course) and made to crawl onto the bed but you stopped him.

“All of it, Lee.”

Who was in charge now?

He straightened back up and slowly shucked his trousers and pants off, eyes never leaving your face. He lazily stroked his cock, watching as your tongue flicked out against your bottom lip. You got on your knees and made your way over, clearly impatient to get your hands around him - well, that’s what he thought, at least, until he felt your sinful tongue drag across his length.

“Oh fuck, kitten.”

You whimpered at the nickname and a shiver of excitement zipped down his spine. He looked down to see your big eyes on him, sucking in your cheeks. This was better than any of his fantasies. He held your hair in a loose ponytail and helped you to leisurely bob your head, letting you up for air every now and then. You took him in deeper and his head fell back as a groan left him. You were phenomenal. Through his haze of pleasure he noticed you rubbing your thighs together for friction and pulled your mouth off of him. 

He lay down on his back and motioned for you to turn around.

“Sit on my face.”

The excitement on your face was almost comical as you positioned your knees on either side of him, facing his cock. You gingerly lowered yourself but gasped when he roughly grasped your thighs and pulled you down onto his mouth. 

🐍

The feeling was astronomical. His tongue started off softly, lapping at your glistening folds. This all changed when you bent over and took his hardened cock into your mouth again - his strokes became stronger and he licked into you, slipping his tongue deep inside you, scooping out your juices. As you sucked him harder, he penetrated you deeper and you both became even more frenzied - determined to get the other one there first. You lost after he suddenly pulled your clit between his lips, sucking on it in earnest. He popped out of you as you wailed loud and clear, stars bursting behind your eyelids, not caring about his neighbours. You made to take him back into your mouth but he lifted you off him and pulled you in for a kiss instead. He looked downright edible, mouth shining in the soft glow of the lamp. You ran your hands over his steel chest and watched his breath hitch.

You were about to ask for a glass of water when he rolled you onto your back, got onto his knees and yanked you up by your hips. 

Oh, fuck me.

He sank into you slowly and you felt your eyes cross at the sensation. This position was unreal, he was large and pushed deep into your swollen and slick cunt. When he was fully sheathed he kissed the side of your knee, waiting for you to adjust.

“God, you’re perfect.”

The way those words dripped off his tongue had you squirming. How many times am I going to come tonight?

As he started thrusting steadily, you knew your answer. Many, many times.

🐍

Minho had never been so proud of his stamina. Your breasts bounced with every thrust, eyes rolling to the back of your head - how was he able to hold out for so long? He leaned forward and licked a thick stripe over your pink nipple, relishing your reaction. He nipped at the other one playfully and felt you clench around him - a low growl escaping the back of his throat at the sensation. He made sure to graze your g-spot consistently in that first position, causing you to come. He made sure to stimulate your clit when he took you on your side, causing you to climax. He made sure to place some pressure on your arse when taking you from behind, causing you to orgasm. And, when he took you in missionary, he made sure to maintain eye contact, causing you to reach your little death. He followed you to your demise. He kissed you tenderly as you calmed down, both of you conveying what you couldn’t admit to out loud.

He watched you drink water, hoping you wouldn’t leave. He noticed the nerves mirrored on your face and immediately cradled you in his arms. 

“Will you stay the night, kitten?”

Your features relaxed and you leaned into his chest, breathing him in. He felt you nod and pulled the blanket over the both of you, settling down for the night.    

Dawn broke over the horizon, taking your dreams with it. You felt your heart clench and your stomach lurch as you realised today was the day. How unfair was it to lose another person? At this point it was better for your health to never form relationships again. You looked over to the disgustingly attractive man next to you. His hair fluffed around him, rosy lips slightly open, chest rising and falling steadily, and a strong arm draped over you. He felt you move and his grip tightened, making you tear up. You stared up at the ceiling, preparing yourself for the inevitable.

“Morning.”

His husky, low voice was devastating - this may have been the sexiest, yet most endearing, sound you had ever heard. 

“Did you sleep okay?”

“I did.”

“Good. Oh, found them.”

You followed his line of sight and saw two gorgeous cats curled around each other at the foot of the bed. They seemed to have no issue with you being there.

“They’re beautiful. I’m glad you’re not alone.”

He heard the waver in your tone and studied your features. He moved closer and cupped your face.

“What’s bothering you, kitten?”

You could see he knew the answer but wanted to hear it anyway.

“I know it’s ridiculous, I mean, we’ve only done this once but… I already miss you.”

He stared at you and you started to doubt yourself - was it just a fling between you two?

“I’ve been meaning to talk about this.”

Oh no…

“It was brought to my attention that an exhibition has just opened at a certain museum in Cairo. Called “Exalted Spirits: The Veneration of the Dead in Egypt”. Sounds absolutely fascinating and I’m pretty sure Dr Son wants me to go scout it out. You know, for research.”

Your eyes glimmered in disbelief as you took this in. You knew about this exhibition, of course, but that would mean he would have had to look this up a while ago. As this sank in, you watched his head turn back to his cats. 

He murmured in thought, “They worship cats there, don’t they?”

 A smile spread across your features and you didn’t bother to correct his time period blunder because you were just too busy kissing him.

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You answered this perfectly, unnie! But I'm going to need you to elaborate on the last thought.

Let's flesh it out... Flesh HIM out.

Hard Thoughts about switch!Jisung.

We already know this man can sub, but I'm sure as hell he can dom you too.

How and when does he switch with you?

What happens when you're in a polycule?

Tell me what you think, unnie!

Oh you are so right, he can dom you good. The idea of Hannie being a switch is such a turn on for me because he fulfills all my needs fantasy-wise. If I want to be a pillow princess, he'll take care of me (somno fantasy specifically). I want to be a brat, he's gonna put me in my place. I want to be in charge and baby him. He let's me.

But this ask isn't about me! Sorry *hides face*

But still, it's all about needs really.

Jisung is either sub or dom depending on what his needs are in that moment. If he's had a long hard day having to do what others tell him, he needs to balance it out with some control. He'll want to dominate you. Make you follow instructions. Sometimes, if he's tired, he'll demand you do absolutely everything while he just relaxes. You have to suck him off, ride him, milk him dry, while he lays there and watches you with intense eyes.

Other times, when he's had too much free time, or he's been working hard creatively, he'll need you to take charge. All he wants to do is relinquish control, not have to think or decide. He can just surrender. He wants you to make him feel pathetic and small. He wants to be overstimulated and fall apart. He wants you to spank him and fuck him with his monster dildo. He loves it when you make him do nasty things to you. And after, he wants you to soothe him and hold him. Maybe watch a movie, or curl up to sleep.

Then there's the times where he surprises you. Like he'll turn. You think you're getting Sungie, but you get Sir Han. Or vice versa. Or, you'll be such a brat that he has no choice but to embody his dominant side. There's no telling when that is going to happen, but it's usually when he's had to create (come up with new songs) and perform (usually dance practice). Both tanks are empty and he doesn't know what he needs most.

Which leads me into...

He loves a poly situation because he can almost be both dom and sub in one sitting (or fucking). Domming and topping you, while someone is domming him. One of his faves is being instructed by a dom to dom you. It feeds both sides of him equally and helps keep him balanced. "That's it slut take it... did I do good, Mommy?"

My personal favorite is when Hannie is the meat in the sandwich. I bet he looks so fucking delicious and delirious when he's deep inside someone at the same time someone is inside him. Extra thought.... him with two females, him in one, the other wearing a strap and in him! Help!

permanent tag list : open (if you are on my series taglists but want to be tagged in all my posts, please let me know and I can add you to the permanent tag list)

@channieandhisgoonsquad @noellllslut @itsseohannbin @weareapackofstrays @3rachasdomesticbanana @palindrome969 @xxkissesforchanniexx @chuuchuu1224 @fun-fanfics @wolfennracha @rhonnie23 @jisunglyricist @strayywayy @armystay89 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @mylittleponeypinkrosieposie @kyunchoni

---

｡⋆˚under the stars ｡⋆˚｡⋆. LK + HH

pairing: hyunho x fem!reader, hyunjin x reader, lee know x reader,

synopsis: camping with 9 people, 4 tents leaves you stuck with sharing a tent and bed with minho + hyunjin who fight for your attention

MNDI 18+: somnophilia, implied consent, thigh riding, kissing, groping, masturbation, fem!reader

---

you can't recall to anyone raising questions at the wise idea it was to plan a trip with nine people without any consideration for the sleeping arrangements. of course there was gonna be some sacrifices made considering their couldn't possibly be 9 tents available for you each to have your own space and yet you were still shocked to find only 4 tents.

minho had the made the suggestion to organize a camping trip now that you all had an upcoming week of a completely free schedule. it wasn't often you had this so who were any of you to object ? it would start as early as 4am, rounding everyone into the rental van, an ungodly amount of luggage, and 8 unruly passengers who would be bouncing off the walls once 6am rolled around. the first few hours were quite, chan was driving and minho as the designated passenger princess offering directions and company as the only other person awake at 4am.

i'm the rows of seats behind were jisung who had already found the perfect angle to his pillow pressed against the window with drool slipping past his lips. felix also laid against changbins shoulder in a similar manner, opting to use his bicep as a make shift pillow. seungmin had his head tilted back against the seat and every so often waking up like a puppy fighting sleep. jeongin stayed leaned against the window watching the passing trees and rain droplets shower the window, once he was woken up he found it hard to sleep.

then there was you, directly behind the drivers seat with your own princess sleeping on your lap. hyunjin complained that if he slept on your shoulder, it'd cramp his neck too badly to sleep. so he spread himself out across 3 seats (yours included. it was only a matter of minutes it took for him to fall asleep aided by your hands running through his hair.

minho would glance back at every so often before giving you his cat-like grin then gesturing you hit hyunjin awake, forcing you to stifle a laugh. finally arriving to the camp grounds, you were fortunate enough to find minho had found a camp ground with luxury style tenting. all the tents had been set up perfectly, cutting out the labor of setting it up yourself. along with the tents were a plethora of chairs, a man made pit for fire, along with any other necessary camping amenities for cooking and survival. it was tucked away from the roads and next to a gorgeous lake with a breath taking view.

as everyone is unloading the bags from the car, it becomes apparent that the next standing conflict is the sleeping situation. you all stand in the center, surrounded by the 4 tents while everyone argues about who has first dibs and who has to sleep with who. eventually chan is directing seungmin and jeongin to one tent, felix and changbin to another, then the dilemma. the five you stand there staring at one another.

".... i think maybe we should give her own tent?" chan is the first to speak.

"hyung you want us to dog pile in one tent with 4 of us on one bed?" jisung turns to him with his arms crossed.

"i really don't mind sharing it's just-" you begin to say but end up cut off by two voices.

"i'll do it" "i'll do it"

your turn to find hyunjin and minho staring each other down, both surprised to hear the other offer to bunk with you.

"i think she can decide for herself who she wants to sleep with- i mean ! not sleep with but share SHARE i mean share." chan speaks up flustered as jisung laughs with a shaking head.

you feel your face growing warm with the way minho and hyunjin stare down at you, ironic given how the cold wind nips at your face.

"i uh... let me see how big the room is first." you say making a bee line for the tent furthest from. you can hear hyunjin and minho muttering something to each other when you brush past them.

you take a peak inside noting the bed size, the makeshift air mattress couch. you could sleep on that right ? they can have the bed and you could have the couch. you put your bag down on the outside portion, adjusting your scarf as you approach them. jisung had already taken his bag to the other tent, deciding his input was no longer needed by whatever decision you made.

"there's a blow up couch inside, i can sleep on that and they can take the bed so..."

"you're not sleeping on the couch? minho can sleep on the couch." hyunjin slaps minho's shoulder as he says while the person in question shoots him a death glare.

"are you sure you want those two in your tent? i'm sure one of them wouldn't mind sleeping in the tent with ji and me-"

"i'll sleep on the couch! really it's no problem." you interrupt chan's objection.

you couldn't say refuse either minho or hyunjin sharing the tent. part of you wanted to bunk with both of them, another part of you took comfort in not sleeping alone. you waived chan off saying it would be okay and watched hyunjin grab his bag bolting for the tent. chan reassured that if you wanted to kick one of them out, he'd gladly help.

minho looked at you asking you if you were really sure but you reassured him that it would be alright.

"you're still not sleeping on that couch, i'll drag hyunjin out by his hair if i have to make you sleep on the bed."

"i really don't think that'll be necessary."

"i beg to differ."

the two of you walked towards the tent to find hyunjin splayed out across the bed in a starfish position staring back gleefully. he leans off the bed to grab your wrist when you approach the night stand to plug in a charger.

"you'll keep me warm tonight?" hyunjin ask's in a flirty tone but is only met with a pillow minho has swatted at him.

--

the lake was too cold to swim in but you and felix rolled up the ankles of your pants to dip just your feet in the water. the two of you collected pretty rocks before venturing off to find some twigs and branches to help start the fire for later tonight. minho being the vetted camper, had assembled and prepped everything for the barbecue. hyunjin sat perched on a rock enjoying the view of the lake and mountains surrounding. he had brought a retro camera, capturing some pictures and videos of you and felix sword fighting with twigs before seungmin killed the fun deciding to chase you with a muddy stick.

as night time approached, felix and you felt it would be best to step away from the lake, bundle up as the wind blew colder then before. for as isolated as the camp grounds was, this truly was more luxurious then most hotels. after a quick and very cold shower out door, you headed back to the tent to retrieve any and all heat that had left your body. layered in clothes sitting on the couch trying to warm up just the slightest before making the 10 ft journey to sit by the fire. minho came in taking in your shivering appearance.

"just a little cold?" he half laughs while looking in concern, you were already wearing sweats, a tank top, a long sleeve thermal, thick fluffy socks, a beanie, and the warmest/thickest sherpa jacket you owned.

"why does it look like it?" you ask through shivers. he's rummaging through a bag, he stops and pulls out a black knit sweater, extending his arm out to you.

"here, put this on." he says waiting for you to take it.

"i'm fine, ill warm up in a bit."

"please, just put it on. you're making me cold just by watching you shiver."

"but what about you? aren't you gonna be cold-" you're cut off by him walking over to you and kneeling in front. without missing a beat he pushes your jacket off the shoulders and is already bringing the open down on your head. he helps you put your arms through before pulling your hair out from the opening to readjust it.

your flustered at the gesture and truly speechless. minho had always been caring and really shows it in his actions so why should this be any less of surprise? he'd given you his jackets before when you were cold but this gesture felt more personal, romantic even. whatever it was, it made your heart swoon and your cheeks pink with blush. even as he fixes the loose hairs flying your face all you can focus on his the feel of his finger tips brushing against your face.

"better?" he asks, his eyes bore into yours before flickering down to your lips.

"yes. a lot better, thank you." you don't miss the way his ears are turning red, you can feel his breath fanning against you. fighting the urge to lean in and kiss him on the lips just for being so sweet. his hair falls over his eyes bit, you push a strand back with a feather touch that his him leaning into your hand. your hand stops momentarily on his cheek.

"what is taking so long ? i'm hungr-" the sound of hyunjin's voice cause you both to jump back a bit.

minho scrambling to his feet to grab his other jacket and head towards the entrance hyunjin stands at. you head feels dizzy at what happened, thinking about how you should've just kissed him. it's when hyunjin walks into your line of vision pull you both literally and metaphorically out of your thoughts.

"jagi sit with me! jeongin won't let me hug him so you're going to."

you don't have time to object before hyunjin has already pulled you down with him into the rocking chair loveseat. to anyone who didn't know you're friendship with hyunjin, you would've looked like a couple with the way his arm is thrown around you and pulling your legs to rest on top of his giving the ability to rock you both back and forth under the blanket. for as long as you had known hyunjin, he'd always been like this. he loved to hug, cuddle, and hold you but i guess there was no alarm bells to be rung when you noticed he didn't hold any of his other friends that were girls like this. it was clearly platonic and he felt comfortable, right?

minho and chan were grilling, you basked in the warmth of sitting next to hyunjin in the blanket. every once in a while you were reminded by the the fact that you were wearing minho's sweater since his cologne seemed to seep into the threads of the sweater. it smelled heavenly, his cologne was vanilla mixed with sweet tobacco but mixed with his own musk had your chest feeling like butterflies swarming where your heart should be. hyunjin so close to you didn't help either since he always smelled of florals and now the breeze of pine wrapped you in comfort, a state of melancholy. your nose twitched at the smell of the bbq, hyunjin clocked it giggling saying you looked like a bunny.

he retrieves a plate for you to both share and demands you feed him. his arms wrapped around your waist under the blanket, you take notice of the way minho stares down hyunjin with every bite you feed the drama queen, he only offers a smug smirk to minho. you spend some time around the fire talking, laughing, that is until seungmin decides now is the best time to start telling scary stories. unfortunately, as tough as you are about scary stories, you can't help the growing paranoia at every branch snap or twig snap. you're so engulfed in seungmins story you don't notice jisung has disappeared and is now currently crouched behind the love seat waiting to scare you.

you scream louder then you could've possibly anticipated when jisung grabs your shoulders from behind growling. hyunjin screams too pulling you closer, everyone else folds over in laughter. it only takes a moment for you to move out of hyunjins grip to chase jisung around the fire with a shoe in hand. you're only stopped by minho lifting you off your feet to keep you from further charging at jisung.

--

as the fire burns lowly, everyone begins to make their way to the beds for the night. hyunjin and minho stand outside the tent to give you privacy while you change your clothes to sleep. you shed the layers keeping a tank top, minhos sweater and boxer briefs on. no matter how cold it was you could never sleep in pants or too many layers. they both make their way back into the tent noticing you attempted to make a bed out of the couch.

"....at least let hyunjin take the couch." minho says as you turn to find them both standing in shorts and t shirts.

"i promise ill be fine to sleep on the couch."

"just sleep in the bed with us?" hyunjin says, you both turn to him. he has a look on his face that says 'isn't this the obvious option?'.

"w-wouldn't it just be uncomfortable for you two ?" you ask. the thought crossed your mind but didn't want to be too forward, you had slept next to hyunjin like this before but it would be a new thing to sleep like this with minho let alone with the both of them.

"ahh its fine. besides minho can sleep in the middle." this earns hyunjin another death glare. so it was settled. no one was sleeping on the couch and you'd be sleeping between them ? it's fine it was only gonna be for a few nights. what could possibly happen?

you slept on your side, back towards hyunjin and facing minho who laid face up. it was a bit of stirring before you felt yourself drift. hyunjin had threw his arm around your waist and minho eventually turned to his side, you were too deep in sleep to have even noticed how close you had all been squished to gather. you hadn't even noticed that minhos thigh had pushed up against you between your legs and your own between his.

the room was peacefully quite with the only sound coming from the nearby lake and crickets tucked away in the grass. minho was a light sleeper so when he heard soft whimpers coming from you, he barely peeked his eyes open. your face was a bit scrunched but nothing to worry. he took a moment to take in how beautiful you looked with moon light barely peaking in, he could just make out the features of face in the darkness. he did notice hyunjins hand on you waist had made its way under your (his) sweater just laid atop over the curve your waist on top of the tank top.

as minho begins to reach over to remove hyunjin's hand, you stir a bit letting a louder whimper fall past your lips. he's afraid he's woken you up in his attempt to pry the hands of the other off you but when he feels movement below, he realizes that your legs are interlocked. minho is about to shift when he feels your hips moving around again but this time he feels it on his thigh.

minho looks down to find that you're practicing straddling his thigh at this point. he knows if he wakes you up, you'd just feel embarrassed. he should stop you but how can he when all he can do is focus on the way your hips are subtly shifting for friction against his thigh. the same thighs he caught you drooling over on far too many occasions for him not have fantasized what dirty things must've run through your head, surely enough this very moment of you grinding your cunt against his thigh was one of them.

your whimpers are becoming more erratic with every move, he feels himself growing harder with every brush of your own thigh pressing up against his strained cock. he tried to close his eyes like he was sleeping convinced this had to be a dream. his eyes shoot open when he hears a grunt that clearly isn't yours. he finds hyunjin now pressed closer to you then before and his hand have moved from the curve of your waist to groping your tit.

hyunjin was not the heaviest sleeper so enough movement could wake him up. he tried not to lay so closely to your back as the way you slept made it nearly impossible for his own hard on to stay at bay. as he fell into a wonderful sleep, he dreamt of you. of laying closely pressed to your backside and rutting himself against while you cried out his name. when he woke to hear your actual whimpers, it turned out that his dream state began to seep into reality as he had been grinding himself into you from behind with his hand groping your covered chest. this was wrong he should stop while he still can but clearly his dreamlike state hadn't left him just yet as he kept grinding his hard cock into your bottom pulling himself closer to be flush against you.

your boob felt so soft and warm under his hand even on top of the knit sweater. hyunjin's eyes shot open when he heard your gasp. he couldn't see it but your eyes were shot open wide at the realization you had been grinding against minho's thigh, he was already staring back at you with a pained expression. your hand was clutching the fabric of minhos shirt as your movements had stopped but there was no denying the reality of the situation. the fact that you had been grinding so hard against minho's thigh, his shorts had risen up and your owner brief shorts did nothing to hide the seeping wet spot.

"minho, i-"

now wasn't the time for explainations or apologies as minho quickly decided that would be a conversation for later, stopping your sentence to kiss you. his lips were soft against yours but his kiss was anything but. unlike you, hyunjin hadn't stopped his own movements. he continued to grind against you, moving his hands under the sweater, warm soft skin against his hand as he made his way back up to your chest and pressing his forehead against your shoulder. minho held your hips in place while scooting himself closer without breaking the kiss. your hand stayed clutching the fabric of his shirt as he pressed his thigh firm against your drenched cunt and ruined panties. he slipped his tongue past your lips rewarding himself with your moans and soft cries.

as you pull back from the kiss momentarily, the reality that hyunjin had been egging this moment on hits you as you realize his hand his fondling your chest. the moment you pull back from your kiss with minho, you take in how red his lips look even in the darkness, eyes twinkling with need. its only split second before you feel hyunjin's hand pushing you back into him and his own face coming into view, lips crashing down against yours. he's quick to pinch your nipple that has you gasping, he takes the opportunity to slip his own tongue against yours and drinking in your whimpers. minho is locked into the feeling of your continued movements down below, he almost doesn't notice your hand traveling down his abdomen to his crotch. his cock is straining hard against his shorts, helping you he guides your hand to lay just on top of the fabric outlined cock where you take no time to begin stroking him over the fabric.

hyunjin pulls back from the kiss, leaving a string of saliva connecting your lips still, his attaches his lips to your neck sucking a hickey right below your ear as he feels desperate to for relief. he's picking up his pace rutting against your ass while minho goes back to guiding your hips. your cries are becoming louder as you feel the familiar knot in your stomach, your orgasm feels like wave about to crash down. you reach behind to hyunjin who his more than happy to slide your hand into his shorts guiding you to stroke him. you return the favor to minho sliding your hands down the front of his shorts earning a groan from the two of them.

blissed out on the feeling of your hand wrapped around their lengths, stroking them to their own orgasm. it only take a few strokes before their both spilling into the their shorts and painting your hands white with their cum. they both work quick to pushing you onto your back. hyunjin pulling your thighs apart and minho pushing your sweater up and over your chest. hyunjin makes good use of his fingers skidding them into the briefs gathering your slick on his fingers giving your clit a few circles before plunging one into your hole. your so warm and tight, it's everything he has ever dreamed of. his fingers are long, perfectly reaching the wet spongey spot inside that has your toes curling and crying out for more. minho on the other hand has one of your tits firmly in his grasps, massaging the warm flesh in his hand while his mouth latches on the other. he's not satisfied until your nipple has pebbled in his mouth before moving onto the next. once satisfied with their state he blows air onto them making you shiver and arch back in pleasure. he leaves a few hickeys across the top's of your breasts as to leave his mark behind, of course hyunjin shouldn't be the only one allowed to leave his mark. your orgasm is quickly approaching as hyunjin moves the heel of his palm against your clit and thrusting his finger even faster against your g spot. minho moves quick to kiss you again, capturing all your cries and moans against him as to save the rest of you from being caught by the others. your orgasm hits your hard as your legs stretch and toes curl against the mattress, body twitching as you cum down from the feeling and hyunjin's fingers ride you out through the orgasm almost leaving you too sensitive to touch.

so there the three of you laid out tired, wet, and messy. your briefs are ruined with your wetness, the other's shorts spoiled by their own cum. no one loves just laying in the silence, soft panting and small groans. minho looks over at you to find you've already drifted off to sleep, hyunjin picks up his head from the other side of you. he makes sure minho watches him bring his fingers up to his mouth before sucking and dragging them out with a quite sucking noise.

minho taking the high ground decides to ignore it to the best of his abilities getting up to change his soiled shorts, hyunjin follows suit to do the same. right as their slipping back into the bed with you centered. minho swiftly scoops the blanket and you to lay against him once more before shooting hyunjin a cocky grin.

this would only be the first mark of a very long weekend sharing a tent and bed with these two...

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a/n: part 2 ?